"\.D     TlMI 


lur  cr  v£,cnebrig 


A/vA, 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF 
WAR   TIMES 

REMINISCENCES    OF    MEN    AND 
EVENTS    IN    WASHINGTON 

1860-1865 


BY 


ALBERT    GALLATIN   RIDDLE 

FORMERLY   MEMBER    OF    THE    HOUSE    OF   REPRESENTATIVES   FROM 
THE    IQTH    DISTRICT,    OHIO 


OFTH- 


UNIVERSITY 


G.  P.   PUTNAM'S    SONS 

NEW    YORK  LONDON 

27   WEST  TWENTY-THIRD   STREET  24    BEDFORD    STREET,   STRAND 

<£lje  $nieherfaocker  |)rEis 
1895 


COPYRIGHT,  1895 

BY 
G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


SPRECKELS 


Ubc  "fcnicftcrbocfeer  press,  "ttcw 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


THE  war — its  policies,  incidents,  and  men — its  struggles, 
sufferings,  and  losses — its  horrors,  adventures,  and  tri 
umphs — has  been  written  up,  dwelt  upon,  discussed,  and 
talked  over,  in  public  and  private,  till  he  is  a  brave  or  a 
reckless  man  who  ventures  now  to  challenge  public  atten 
tion  to  anything  further  he  may  have  to  offer  on  that 
topic.  Lincoln  and  his  advisers  have  been  written  of. 
The  great  commanders  have  been  glorified  in  type ;  sev 
eral  have  written  their  own  memoirs,  while  every  corps, 
division,  and  many  brigades  and  regiments,  have  fur 
nished  historians,  and  many  of  very  considerable  merit. 

After  all,  these  in  a  way  were  but  the  gigantic  me 
chanics  of  the  war.  Back  of  all  the  armies,  back  of  the 
great  Secretaries,  back  of  the  President, — of  all, — was  the 
Congress,  where  really  the  war  had  first  to  be  fought. 
The  President  and  all  his  embattled  hosts  were  but  the 
executive — working  out — executing  the  mandates  of  this 
seemingly  silent,  invisible,  but  all-creative  and  compelling 
power. 

Of  this,  save  incidentally  and  cursorily,  nobody  has 
spoken  or  written,  except  Hon.  E.  G.  Spaulding, l  of 
the  New  York  delegation  in  the  House. 

The  philosophy  of  a  people's  history,  especially  a  free 

1  His  History  of  the  Legal- Tender  Paper  Money  Used  during  the  Great 
Rebellion,  Buffalo,  1869. 


101965 


IV  PREFA  TOR  Y  NO  TE. 

people,  is  to  be  gathered  from  its  legislation.  Whoever 
would  rightly  estimate  the  war  must  know  of  the  men  of 
the  37th  and  38th  Congresses  and  their  legislation — es 
pecially  of  the  3/th,  who,  half  blindly  at  the  first,  but 
certainly,  grasped  the  conditions  of  the  great  struggle, 
and  wielded  measureless  power  with  an  unswerving, 
fearless,  but  instinctive  sagacity,  which  left  to  the  next 
Congress  nothing  to  do  but  to  follow,  and  push  forward 
along  its  broad  and  luminous  way. 

The  iron  skeleton  of  the  war  lies  imbedded  in  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  volumes  of  the  United  States 
Statutes  at  Large. 

The  time  has  not  yet  come  for  more  than  a  memoir  of 
this  great  Congress,  which  should  be  attempted  at  least 
by  some  one  of  its  members  who  may  impart  to  his  work 
something  of  the  local  color  and  spirit  of  that  body. 

The  writer  is  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  the  House, 
where  he  was  not  so  conspicuous  as  to  make  enemies,  nor 
yet  so  obscure  as  to  be  unable  to  make  himself  heard,  if 
not  felt,  upon  some  of  the  greatest  problems  that  have 
ever  received  legislative  solution  among  men. 

He  has  long  meditated  something  like  a  memoir,  which 
he  finally  submits,  not  without  misgiving.  He  can  hardly 
expect  great  favor  from  the  public  when  he  has  failed  to 
win  more  than  his  own  toleration  for  his  work. 

He  has  spoken  freely,  perhaps  gives  too  much  space  to 
his  own  utterances,  and  stands  too  prominently  in  the 
foreground.  Speaking  as  he  does  in  the  first  person  of 
the  things  he  in  some  way  helped  to  accomplish,  and 
which  were  wrought  under  his  eyes,  his  place  in  the 
memoir  for  one  of  his  personality  was,  perhaps,  inevitable. 

In  saying  so  much  he  neither  expects  nor  desires  to 
avoid  criticism. 


CONTENTS. 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


PAGE 

iii 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTORY  (1817-1860) 

Something  of  the  Author — Parentage — Carried  to  the  Western 
Reserve,  Ohio,  1817 — Hard  Fortune — Political  Influence  of  Joshua 
R.  Giddings — Admitted  to  the  Bar,  1840 — Called  the  First  Free- 
Soil  Convention  in  Ohio,  1848 — Defended  the  Oberlin  Slave  Res 
cuers — Formation  of  the  Republican  Party — The  Fremont  Cam 
paign — Elected  to  the  37th  Congress  in  the  Cleveland  District — 
iQth  Ohio — Relations  with  Salmon  P.  Chase — First  Visit  to  the 
Capital — The  Great  Men — The  Two  Houses  of  Congress — The 
Peace  Congress. 

CHAPTER   II. 

WASHINGTON  IN  1861  (February-March,  1861) 

The  Capital — Washington  in  1861 — Capitol  Hill — Everything  in 
Ruins — Washington  a  Southern  City — The  New  Party  and  Men 
of  the  North — Mr.  Lincoln's  Personal  Danger — His  High  Spirits 
— Meeting  of  Lincoln  and  General  Scott. 


CHAPTER  III. 

LINCOLN'S  INAUGURATION  (March  4-11,  1861) 

The  Inauguration — General  Scott's  Precautions — The  Inaugural 
Address— Mr.  Buchanan  Bears  Himself  Manfully — The  Ball — 
Mt.  Vernon  Then  and  Now — Alexandria — The  Congressional 
Cemetery — The  White  House. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

PAGE. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  (March,  1861)     .  .18 

The  Civil  Service  of  that  Day— The  Cleveland  Post-Office— A  Once 
Famous  Contest— The  Candidates— Senator  Wade  an  Opponent— 
An  Unfortunate  Victory  for  the  Victor. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  FALL  OF  SUMTER  (April,  1861)  .25 

The  Fall  of  Sumter — The  North  Called  to  Arms — The  Volunteers 
—  Congress  to  Assemble  July  4th. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

LINCOLN'S  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS  (May-July,  1861)  28 

War  Spectacles  in  Washington — The  Army  Invades  Virginia — 
The  Organization  of  the  House — Grow  Elected  Speaker — The 
Speaker's  Prompter — The  Position  of  that  Congress  in  the  War — 
The  President's  Message — Soldiers  in  the  Field— Confiscation — 
Habeas  Corpus. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  HISTORICAL  CONGRESSES  (July,  1861)  .     37 

Comparison  of  the  Historical  Congresses — President  Washington 
and  the  1st  Congress  under  the  Constitution — Mr.  Madison  and 
the  Congress  of  1812 — Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  37th  Congress — Men 
and  Methods  of  the  War — Slavery  to  be  Preserved — Crittenden's 
Joint  Resolution. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

BULL  RUN  (July,  1861)      .  .  .44 

Bull  Run — General  Scott's  Pass — At  Centreville — Roar  of  Battle 
—The  Hospital— The  Sherman  Battery— The  Panic— Scenes  on 
the  Return — Fairfax  Court-House — Eaton  Wounded. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

AFTER  THE  BATTLE  (July-August,  1861)  .        .        .         -55 

The  Battle  not  a  Defeat,  but  a  Draw — Disorder  in  the  City. 


CONTENTS.  vii 

CHAPTER  X. 

PAGE 

MARYLAND'S  EFFORTS  TO  SECEDE  (April-August,  1861)  .     61 

Retrospective — Maryland's  Efforts  to  Secede — Effect  on  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia — The  State  Saved. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

APPOINTMENT  OF  OHIO  BRIGADIER-GENERALS  (August- 
November,  1861) 65 

The  President's  Note — Our  Caucus — Contest  over  Morgan — Rais 
ing  Soldiers— The  4ist  Regiment— Ball's  Bluff. 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE  (December,  1861)  .         .        .69 

Effect  of  the  War  on  Congress— The  Armies— The  President's 
Message — Mr.  Seward — Commissioners  to  Treat  with  the  Rebels 
— Bill  to  Abolish  Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

AWAKENING  OF  CONGRESS  (December,  1861)     .         .  75 

Gloom  of  the  Winter  of  1861-62. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  HOLIDAYS  (December,  i86i-January,  1862)      .         .81 

No  Adjournment  of  Congress — A  Quorum  Presumed — Return  to 
Cleveland — Governor  Morton  of  Indiana. 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  LEHMAN  AND  UPTON  CASES  (January,  1862)     .         .     85 

Important  Questions  Involved — Can  an  Election  be  Declared  Void 
for  a  Paucity  of  Votes  ? — The  Effect  of  the  War  on  an  Election 
in  Virginia. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES  (January-February,  1862)  100 

National  Banks — Father  of  Greenbacks — Secretary  Chase — A 
Great  Debate  in  the  House. 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 


PAGE 


SLAVERY  AGAIN  (January,  February,  1862)        .  .129 

Denationalizing  Slavery — A  Radical  Speech. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  ORDER  CONCERNING  FUGITIVE  SLAVES 

(February,  1862)          ...  .139 

A  Dinner-Table  Scene — Emancipation  in  the  Senate. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

EMANCIPATION  (February,  1862)       .         .  .   156 

The  President's  Plan— House  Debate— The  Bill  was  Fully  De 
bated  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  in  the  House — On  its  Passage 
Mr.  Riddle  Addressed  the  House. 

CHAPTER  XX. 
DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  HOUSE  (February,  1862)    .         .         .   164 

Vallandigham's  Scheme  of  Reconstruction — The  Democracy  Re 
organized. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

ENQUIRY  CONCERNING  BALL'S  BLUFF  (December,  1861- 

January,  1862)     .......   168 

Roscoe  Conkling's  Great  Speech. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  COMMITTEE  ON  THE  CONDUCT  OF  THE  WAR  (Novem 
ber,  i86i-February,  1862)   .         .  .         .   177 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

SIMON  CAMERON  AS  SECRETARY  OF  WAR  (December,  1861- 

January,  1862 179 

Appointment  of  Thomas  A.  Scott — Appointment  of  Edwin  M. 
Stanton. 


CONTENTS.  ix: 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

PAGE 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  GENERAL  WAR  ORDER  (February- 
April,  1862) 182 

A  Solemn  Ceremonial  by  the  Two  Houses — Campaign  on  the  Cum 
berland — Fort  Henry  Surrendered — Fort  Donelson  Captured— 
Battles  of  Shiloh  and  Corinth — The  Tide  Turned. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  BRILLIANT  TENNESSEE  CAMPAIGN  (January-Febru 
ary,  1862) 189 

A  Wonderful  Stroke  of  Military  Genius — Inquiry  for  its  Author — 
Anna  Ella  Carroll. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

REVIEW  OF  LAWS  ENACTED  BY  THE  THIRTY-SEVENTH 
CONGRESS  (The  Long  Session.  Dec.  i86i-July 
1862) 192 

Recapitulation  of  General  Laws — Laws  for  the  District  of  Colum 
bia — The  Division  of  Virginia. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
CONGRESSIONAL  ELECTION  (May-September,  1862)  .         .199 

Congressional  Election — igth  District  Changed — Interest  in  the 
igth  Ohio  District — Greeley  Advises  to  Run  Independent — Would 
Aid — The  Convention — Defeat — The  Proclamation  of  September 
22d — Antietam. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  THIRD  SESSION  OF  THE  THIRTY-SEVENTH  CONGRESS 

(December,  i862-March,  1863)  ....  207 

Mr.  Lincoln's  New  Scheme  for  the  "  Abolishment  of  Slavery  " — 
The  Blockade  Enforced — Conscription — Power  Given  the  Presi 
dent  to  Suspend  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus. 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

PAGE 

THE  SHIP  CANALS  (February,  1863)  ....  211 

Scheme  to  Secure  Warships  on  the  Lakes — The  Defence  of  New 
York. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
CRITICISM  OF  THE  PRESIDENT  (February,  1863)         .         .218 

Extract  from  Mr.  Riddle's  Speech — Mr.  Lincoln's  Vindication. 
CHAPTER  XXXI. 

METHODS  OF  THE  HOUSE  (1861-62) 222 

Difficulties  of  a  New  Member — Congressmen  Bitten  of  Life  at  the 
Capital — Joshua  R.  Giddings — Personal  Experiences. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
EPISODES  DURING  ADJOURNMENT  (March-August,  1863)  .  228 

Riots  and  Victories — Vallandigham  Arrested — Nominated  for 
Governor  of  Ohio — John  Brough — On  the  Stump — Chandler, 
Anderson. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

OFFICIAL  VOYAGE  TO  CUBA  (January-February,  1863)     .  238 

The  U.  S.  Vanderbilt—Tte  Consul  at  Nassau— Visit  to  the  Block- 
ade  Runners. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

BLOCKADE  RUNNERS  (January-February,  1863)         .         .  242 
Built  in  Brooklyn — Sold  and  Transferred  in  Cuba. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE  THIRTY-EIGHTH  CONGRESS  (1863-1864)    .         .        .  249 

A  Glance  at  the  "War. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

PAGE 

DISLOYALTY  IN  THE  HOUSE  (April,  1863)          .         .         .256 

Garfield's  Answer — Colfax  Moves  Long's  Expulsion — Democrats 
Sustain  Long — He  is  Censured  by  the  House — A  Reminiscence  of 
Long  (note). 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
FRANK  BLAIR'S  LAST  SPEECH  (February,  1864)         .         .  264 

The  Blairs — Commercial  Intercourse  with  the  Seceded  States 
Authorized  by  Congress — Regulations  of — Frank  Blair  Charges 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  with  Corrupt  Acts  under  these 
Regulations — Chase  Told  that  the  President  was  a  Party  to  the 
Attack — Achillian  Rage  of  the  Secretary — Mr.  Riddle's  Interview 
with  Mr.  Chase — An  Interview  with  the  President  Arranged. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
THE  DANGER  OF  THE  SITUATION  (February,  1864)  .         .270 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Speech — Mr.  Chase's  Candidacy — The  Blairs  Labor 
to  Form  an  Anti-Slavery  Party  in  Missouri. 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

SUMMER  AT  THE  CAPITAL  (May-June,  1864)     .         .         .   282 

The  National  Convention— Mr.  Chase  Retires— The  War— The 
People. 

CHAPTER  XL. 
THE  LAST  INVASION  (July,  1864) 285 

Wallace  Defeated  at  Monocacy — The  Capital  Alarmed — Rumors — 
Fugitives  Come  in — Rebels  within  Five  Miles — The  Sixth  Corps 
to  the  Rescue— Battle— The  Rebels  Retreat— Early  at  Silver 
Springs. 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  (June-November,  1864)     .   293 

The  Convention — General  Fremont — The  Campaign — At  the 
Capital. 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

PAGE 

RECONSTRUCTION  (July,  1864) 298 

Radical  Difference  between  Congress  and  the  President — The 
President's  Scheme — Congress  Passed  a  Bill  not  Signed — Mr. 
Wade — Mr.  Davis. 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

MILITARY  COMMISSIONS  (1862-1864)          .         .  .  306 

The  City  in  a  State  of  Siege — General  L.  C.  Baker — Provost- 
Marshal  Office  Secrets— The  Milligan  Case— Other  Cases. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

STANTON  AS  SECRETARY  OF  WAR,  1862-1864   .         .         .  314 

The  Time  :  Its  Needs  and  Labor — The  Man — Reminiscences — 
A  Case — The  Raw  Conditions  at  the  Great  Genesis. 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

CONGRESS — SECOND  SESSION  (December,  iS64-April,  1865)  324 
The  Thirteenth  Amendment — Rebel  Prisoners  of  War — Rebel 
Prisons — The  Evacuation  of  Richmond. 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 
THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRESIDENT  (April,  1865)  .  .  331 

L.  C.  Baker's  Wonderful  Detective  Feat — Death  of  Booth. 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 

LAST  WORDS  (May-July,  1865) 336 

The  War  over — The  Grand  Review — Some  Final  Words  of  Abra 
ham  Lincoln — Mr.  Stanton's  Exit. 

APPENDIX  I.       .........  345 

Address  Delivered  at  Cleveland  on  the  Evening  of  the  Execution 
of  John  Brown  ;  Read  in  the  Ho\;se  by  Request  of  Hon.  S.  S.  Cox. 

APPENDIX  II.     .........  350 

At  the  Meeting  of  the  Washington  Bar,  Commemorative  of  the 
Death  of  the  Late  Honorable  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  January  3,  1870. 

APPENDIX  III ...  355 

The  37th  Congress — States  Represented. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR  TIMES. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

1817-1860. 

Something  of  the  Author — Parentage — Carried  to  the  Western  Reserve, 
Ohio,  1817 — Hard  Fortune — Political  Influence  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings 
— Admitted  to  the  Bar,  1840— Called  the  First  Free-Soil  Convention  in 
Ohio,  1848 — Defended  the  Oberlin  Slave  Rescuers — Formation  of  the 
Republican  Party — The  Fremont  Campaign — Elected  to  the  37th  Con 
gress  in  the  Cleveland  District — igth  Ohio — Relations  with  Salmon  P. 
Chase— First  Visit  to  the  Capital— The  Great  Men— The  Two  Houses 
of  Congress — The  Peace  Congress. 

SOME  personal  details  seem  to  me  required  for  the 
better  understanding  of  certain  things  herein  written. 

The  Riddles  of  this  country  came  from  Scotland  through 
Ireland  ;  the  Merricks,  from  Wales.  My  parentage  was 
a  result  of  the  union  of  these.  In  1817,  when  a  year  old, 
we  emigrated  from  Monson,  Massachusetts,  to  the  town 
ship  of  Newbury,  in  the  interior  of  the  Connecticut 
Reserve.  That  territory,  larger  than  the  parent  State, 
was  so  much  of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  pushed 
into  the  limitless  forests  of  the  west.  A  small  group 
of  not  uncultured  men  and  women  of  Massachusetts 
built  their  cabins  near  each  other  there.  My  father  died 
six  years  later,  and  my  mother,  with  eight  children,  of 
whom  I  was  the  fifth,  was  left  to  struggle  on  as  she 


2  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.  [1817- 

might.  An  intellectual,  self-poised  woman,  she  did  not 
fail.  My  childhood  and  boyhood  were  spent  in  many 
places,  from  some  of  which  I  departed  without  formal 
leave-taking.  One  of  these  was  the  school  known 
as  the  Western  Reserve  College,  but  I  had  a  very 
serviceable  year  or  two  at  the  oldest  Painesville 
Academy. 

I  was  pushed  prematurely  forward  in  the  Harrison 
campaign  of  1840,  in  which  I  was  heard  if  not  felt.  Ad 
mitted  to  the  bar  about  September  1st,  I  was  elected 
prosecutor  of  my  county  at  the  October  election  fol 
lowing.  Four  fifths  of  our  people  were  Whigs.  I  early 
fell  under  the  influence  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings  and  Ben 
jamin  F.  Wade,  and  became  intensely  hostile  to  slavery. 
Upon  the  nomination  of  General  Taylor  in  1848,  alone 
I  called  a  revolting  mass-meeting,  which  was  speedily 
followed  by  similar  conventions  in  the  other  Reserve 
counties,  and  the  Free-Soil  party  was  formed,  which 
brought  an  end  to  Whig  rule  in  Ohio.  This  movement 
made  me  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Legislature  for  two 
terms.  I  found  I  was  unfitted  for  politics  and  removed 
to  the  city  of  Cleveland.  With  no  purpose  of  withdraw 
ing  from  the  anti-slavery  war,  I  had  much  to  do  with 
the  organization  of  the  Republican  party,  and  had  gained 
the  friendship  of  the  late  Chief-Justice  Chase,  whose 
nomination  for  President  in  1856  I  much  desired.  I  was 
active  in  the  Fremont  campaign,  and  later  was  entrusted 
with  the  defence  of  the  Oberlin  slave  rescuers — twenty- 
one  in  all,  among  whom  were  some  of  the  professors 
of  Oberlin  College.  Two  of  the  defendants  were  con 
victed.  I  failed  to  secure  their  discharge  on  habeas 
corpus,  before  a  full  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio, 
by  three  to  two,  but  I  gained  my  purpose  by  the  indict 
ment  for  kidnapping  of  the  party  who  had  captured  the 
slave.  Satisfied  that  both  cases  would  result  in  conviction, 
the  parties  interested  agreed  to  a  nolle  for  both.  The 


1860]  INTRODUCTORY.  3 

matter  at  stake  was  of  National  as  well  as  of  State 
importance.1 

In  1860  I  labored  for  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Chase,  and 
was  entrusted  with  the  delicate  matter  of  arranging  some 
details  by  which  the  late  Chief-Justice  Cartter  of  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia,  then  of  Cleveland,  became  the  head  of 
the  Ohio  delegation,  with  the  immediate  charge  of  Mr. 
Chase's  fortunes  in  the  Chicago  Convention.  Cartter  be 
came  later  Chief-Justice  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

In  all  the  Reserve  Congressional  districts,  the  canvass 
was  for  the  nomination.  That  came  to  me  easily  in  the 
campaign  of  1860.  The  district  was  then  known  as  the 
Nineteenth  and  was  composed  of  Cuyahoga,  Lake,  and 
Geauga  Counties,  with  two  lake  ports,  a  U.  S.  District 
Court,  and  a  marine  hospital.  The  patronage  of  the  dis 
trict  was  important,  and  it  was  deemed  essential  that  the 
member  should  give  to  it  early  attention. 

In  his  famous  progress  as  president-elect,  Mr.  Lincoln 
reached  Cleveland  on  the  i$th  of  February,  1861,  when 
I  first  met  him  at  a  great  reception,  and  was  by  him  in 
vited  to  accompany  him  to  Erie.  This  I  was  unable  to  do, 
but  I  attended  him  to  Painesville,  Ohio,  where  I  was  en 
gaged  in  a  trial.  I  was  then  and  there  afterwards  treated 
by  him  with  much  kindness  and  consideration.  I  then 
formed  and  ever  continued  to  have  a  cordial  personal  re 
gard  for  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

1  When  John  Brown,  the  late  of  Harper's  Ferry,  was  about  to  be  put 
upon  trial,  he  applied  to  his  friends  D.  R.  Tilden  and  D.  K.  Cartter,  both 
of  Cleveland,  and  ex-Members  of  Congress,  to  come,  one  or  both,  or  send 
counsel  for  his  defence.  They,  with  others,  applied  to  me.  I  was  then 
absent.  Before  my  return,  Hiram  Griswold  had  volunteered,  and  gone. 
I  was  a  little  reluctant  to  appear  with  him  in  the  case,  and  so  much  time 
had  elapsed  that  I  finally  declined  the  undertaking,  to  my  lasting  regret. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  Brown's  execution,  with  others,  I  addressed 
a  great  meeting  at  the  old  Melodion  Hall  in  Cleveland.  My  little  speech 
was  reported  and  had  a  circulation  and  attention  out  of  all  proportion  to  its 
importance.  A  colleague  had  it  read  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
during  the  37th  Congress. 


4  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.  [1817- 

A  word  in  reference  to  the  press  of  Cleveland  at  that 
time  may  be  pardoned,  as  the  course  of  this  press  had 
much  to  do  with  my  brief  career  in  Congress.  There 
were  two  strong  republican  journals  and  of  course  rivals. 
The  Herald,  well  established  in  wealthy  surroundings, 
and  supported  by  such  aristocracy  as  Cleveland  then 
sheltered,  was  the  conservative  organ.  It  stood  by  my 
rival,  Mr.  Franklin  T.  Backus,  for  nomination  to  Congres 
sional  favors.  The  Leader,  recently  established  and  in  the 
hands  of  the  late  Edwin  Cowles,  was  the  radical  advocate. 
Cowles,  a  man  of  strong  character  and  inflexible  purpose, 
was  poor,  his  paper  shaky,  and  some  infirmities  of  hear 
ing  and  speech  were  sore  obstacles  in  his  way.  He  was 
no  personal  or  political  friend  of  mine,  had  contributed 
no  effort,  not  even  a  paragraph,  to  aid  my  canvass,  and 
was  personally  unpopular.  Since  the  organization  of  the 
Republican  party,  the  Herald  had  monopolized  the  en 
tire  patronage  at  its  disposal.  The  Leader  had  never  been 
permitted  to  print  a  notice,  an  advertisement,  or  a  ballot. 

The  editors  were  also  severally  proprietors  of  these 
sheets,  and  both  were  candidates  for  the  post-office.  I 
determined,  regardless  of  personal  consequences,  to  secure 
it  for  Cowles,  though  neither  applicant  was  at  first  aware 
of  my  purpose.  Perhaps  not  more  than  two  candidates 
in  the  district  knew  of  my  intentions  in  their  favor.  I 
was  an  utter  stranger  in  Washington,  and  had  no  informa 
tion  of  the  ways  and  devices  of  office-seeking  and  office- 
seekers,  or  of  the  methods  of  distribution  of  executive 
patronage.  I  was  so  utterly  innocent  that  I  had  but  two 
governing  ideas :  to  secure  the  best  services  to  the  public, 
and  by  the  best  and  most  worthy  available  men. 

On  the  second  night  of  my  first  journey  to  Washington 
I  found  myself  at  midnight  with  the  slow  laboring  train, 
resting  in  the  gorge  at  Harper's  Ferry.  We  had  nearly  a 
hour  there.  The  storms  clouds  had  drifted  away  and  a 
full  moon  filled  the  narrow  valley,  mantled  in  snow,  with 


18601  INTRODUCTORY.  5 

its  flood  of  perpendicular  light.  All  the  buildings  of  the 
armory  lay  silent  in  the  ghostly  light,  which  lit  up  the 
Maryland  heights  as  well  as  the  wooded  Virginia  cliffs. 
I  had  a  half  hour's  stroll  about  the  deserted  streets  of 
the  sleeping  little  Virginia  town.  The  government  build 
ings  were  exactly  as  the  famous  fight  had  left  them. 

In  the  gray  of  the  next  dawn,  we  drove  along  the  im 
posing  front  of  the  great  Capitol,  which  few  strangers  be 
hold  for  the  first  time  without  being  deeply  impressed. 
Indeed  Englishmen  have  since  told  me  that  it  is  by  far 
the  noblest  Parliament  House  in  the  world. 

We  landed  ourselves  at  the  old  National  Hotel,  which 
appeared  to  be  still  redolent  with  the  fumes  that  four 
years  before  had  been  so  nearly  fatal  to  Mr.  Buchanan 
and  his  friends. 

There  were  visits  to  the  two  Houses  of  Congress, 
which  were  still  in  session  during  these  last  days  of 
Buchanan  and  the  Democracy.  The  handsome,  and  as  a 
presiding  officer,  the  inflexibly  impartial  Breckinridge 
ruled  in  the  Senate,  and  the  equally  handsome  and  more 
imposing  Pennington  misruled  and  snarled  up  the  House. 
I  had  a  few  calls  to  make ;  my  friends  the  Wades  were 
both  in  the  House,  with  John  Hutchins,  Edgerton,  Ash 
ley,  and  others  of  the  Ohio  delegation.  Then  there  were 
the  great  debates  in  the  Senate  to  attract  me.  I  listened 
to  the  pathetic  lamentations  of  Crittenden,  the  reply  of 
Colonel  Baker,  the  caustic  comments  of  Hale,  but  I  did 
not  hear  Seward.  Chase  was  not  in  this  Senate,  but  was 
elected  to  the  next.1 

I  was  presented  to  the  great  Sumner,  and  did  my  poor 
best  to  propitiate  and  cultivate  him.  But  I  always  had 
to  tell  him  who  I  was,  and  he  always  asked  what  I  had 

1  Dr.  Seymour  of  Ohio  who  accompanied  me  made  me  acquainted  with 
Roscoe  Conkling,  and  with  Mrs.  Conkling,  and  Conkling  and  I  became 
friends,  and  remained  such  until  I  appeared  as  counsel  for  General  Fry, 
before  the  House  Committee  to  which  their  old  quarrel  was  referred  early 
in  1866. 


0  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.         LI 81 7-1 860 

done  to  entitle  me  to  his  notice,  and  I  always  had  to  ad 
mit  I  had  done  nothing,  and,  as  I  was  not  born  a  courtier, 

1  was  obliged  to  give  him  up.     I  got  on  better  with  Mr. 
Seward.      Something  had  commended  me   to  him,  and 
I  was  received  on  trust. 

Our  own  still  wonderful  Corwin  was  in  the  House,  with 
whom  I  had  passed  a  week  in  the  last  canvass.  Douglas, 
whom  I  had  never  met,  was  there,  as  was  also  my  Ohio 
house-friend  and  opponent,  George  Pugh,  whom  I  always 
liked.  Fessenden,  Hale,  Seward,  and  Preston  King,  Ed 
ward  D.  Baker, — over  whom  I  was  so  soon  to  lament,— 
Cameron,  Andrew  Johnson,  Collamer,  and  Foote,  Doo- 
little,  and  other  distinguished  men  were  in  the  Senate, — 
men  of  whom  I  had  only  read.  The  Demigogs  and  Gogs 
of  Slavery  had  all  departed  save  Breckinridge  and  the 
Missourians.  There  were  many  famous  men  in  the 
House  also.  Then  there  were  the  Capitol,  the  library, 
the  public  buildings,  the  city,  all  to  be  gone  over  ere  I 
should  sort  myself  round  to  my  own  place. 

The  scoff  of  that  day,  for  which  history  has  not  yet 
found  place,  "The  Peace  Congress,"  originating  with 
Virginia  and  presided  over  by  John  Tyler — the  "  Tyler 
too  "  of  1840 — had  done  its  work  and  gone.  Its  seven 
propositions  were  under  debate  in  the  Senate,  and  I  heard 
upon  them  Douglas,  Baker,  Mason,  Wade,  Green,  and 
others.  Among  the  Ohio  Commissioners  were  Chase, 
Ewing,  and  Groesbeck,  also  my  competitors,  F.  T.  Backus 
and  Reuben  Hitchcock.  The  work  of  that  body  con 
sisted  of  seven  propositions  to  amend  the  Constitution  in 
the  interests  of  slavery,  which  already  had  a  Confederacy 
of  seven  States,  a  President,  a  Congress,  an  Army,  and  a 
Capital  of  its  own. 


CHAPTER    II. 
WASHINGTON    IN    1861. 

FEBRUARY-MARCH,    1 86 1. 

The  Capital — Washington  in  1861 — Capitol  Hill — Everything  in  Ruins — 
Washington  a  Southern  City — The  New  Party  and  Men  of  the  North — 
Mr.  Lincoln's  Personal  Danger — His  High  Spirits — Meeting  of  Lincoln 
and  General  Scott. 

WHOEVER  becomes  familiar  with  the  Washington  of 
to-day,  with  its  hundreds  of  miles  of  broad,  smooth- 
surfaced  streets,  bordered  with  a  120,000  shade  trees,  its 
numerous  parks,  with  their  statuary,  fountains,  shrubbery, 
and  flowers,  its  numerous  perfected  public  buildings  and 
monuments,  its  picturesque  order  of  architecture  for  resi 
dences,  will  hardly  be  able  to  realize  its  contrast  with  the 
Washington  of  1861. 

It  was  then  as  unattractive,  straggling,  sodden  a  town, 
wandering  up  and  down  the  left  bank  of  the  yellow 
Potomac,  as  the  fancy  can  sketch.  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
twelve  rods  wide,  stretched  drearily  over  the  mile  between 
the  unfinished  Capitol  and  the  unfinished  Treasury  build 
ing  on  Fifteenth  Street,  West,  where  it  turned  north  for  a 
square,  and  took  its  melancholy  way  to  Georgetown,  across 
the  really  once  very  beautiful  Rock  Creek.  Illy  paved  with 
cobble-stones,  it  was  the  only  paved  street  of  the  town. 
The  other  streets,  which  were  long  stretches  of  mud  or 
deserts  of  dust  and  sand,  with  here  and  there  clumps  of 

7 


8  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [Feb.  1861- 

poorly  built  residences  with  long  gaps  between  them, 
passing  little  deserts  of  open  lands,  where  their  lines  were 
lost,  wandered  from  the  highlands  north  towards  the 
Potomac,  and  from  the  Eastern  Branch  (Anacosta)  to 
Rock  Creek.  Not  a  sewer  blessed  the  town,  nor  off  of 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  was  there  a  paved  gutter.  Each 
house  had  an  open  drain  from  its  rear,  out  across  the 
sidewalk.  As  may  be  supposed,  the  Capital  of  the  Re 
public  had  more  mal-odors  than  the  poet  Coleridge 
ascribed  to  ancient  Cologne.  There  was  then  the  open 
canal,  a  branch  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio,  from  Rock 
Creek  to  Anacosta,  breeding  malaria,  tadpoles,  and  mos 
quitoes.  The  Tiber  of  to-day,  ancient  "  Goose  Creek," 
stagnated  from  the  highlands  through  the  Botanic  Gar 
dens,  and  Slash  Run  overflowed  the  northwest  wastes  of 
the  swampy  city  plat. 

The  President's  house,  the  little  dingy  State  Depart 
ment,  set  squat  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  north 
wing  of  the  Treasury  building,  the  War  and  Navy  on 
Seventeenth  Street,  the  Post-Office  Department,  and  the 
Interior,  were  the  only  completed  public  edifices  of  the 
Capital.  The  Washington  Monument,  the  Capitol,  and 
the  Treasury  building  were  melancholy  specimens  of 
arrested  development. 

The  walls  of  the  two  wings  of  the  Capitol  had  not  been 
perfected,  and  the  little  old  jug-like  dome  of  the  old  cen 
tral  structure  still  occupied  its  place,  utterly  lost  in  the 
expanse  of  the  acres  of  roof  that  it  could  not  dominate. 
The  building  was  placed  at  the  west  margin  of  a  table 
land  that  sloped  westward,  facing  the  east,  with  the  sur 
face  rising  several  feet  in  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards.  This  was  a  fenced  square  filled  with  a  heavy 
growth  of  forest  trees,  mostly  the  short-lived  southern 
maple.  The  west  approach  was  up  an  earthern  terrace, 
which  sloped  down  into  another  timbered  enclosure. 
North  and  South  A  Streets  were  then  in  place,  and  each 


March  18611  WASHINGTON  IN  1861.  9 

was  built  up  compactly,  on  the  sides  facing  the  Capitol, 
with  low,  mean  structures. 

Save  the  enclosed  east  and  west  spaces,  the  western 
slope  of  Capitol  Hill  was  open  ground.  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  passed  around  the  north  wing  of  the  Capitol  on 
its  eastern  way,  and  all  that  open  ground  was  covered 
with  the  remains  of  building  stone,  lumber,  and  timber, 
and  loaded  over  at  every  place  of  access  with  the  huge 
iron  plates  for  the  great  Capitol  dome,  doomed  in  the 
counsels  of  the  slavery  hosts,  never  to  be  set  in  place. 
Nothing  more  conclusively  showed  the  predetermined  de 
struction  of  the  Republic  than  this  deliberate  suspension 
of  the  completion  of  the  Capitol  and  Treasury  building, 
then  limited  to  the  portion  represented  by  the  Colonnade, 
fronting  Fifteenth  Street.  The  Capitol  was  unfinished 
on  the  inside.  All  during  the  37th  Congress  the  old  hall 
of  the  House  was  a  mere  lumber  room,  unsightly  and 
offensive. 

So  also  the  bridges  across  the  Potomac  were  found  to 
be  in  a  ruinous  condition,  as  was  everything  dependent 
upon  the  will  of  the  retiring  administration.  Indeed  it 
had  borrowed  money  for  its  current  expenses,  and  this 
loan  we  had  to  provide  for. 

Politically,  the  city — the  fixed  population — was  intensely 
Southern,  as  much  so  as  Richmond  or  Baltimore.  Very 
few  men  of  culture,  and  none  below  that  grade,  were  Re 
publicans  at  the  advent  of  "  Lincoln  and  his  Northern 
myrmidons,"  as  they  were  called  in  1860-61.  The  pres 
ence  of  a  loyal  administration  and  Congress,  with  the  new, 
fresh  blood  and  inspiration  of  a  new  party,  called  to  do 
heroic  deeds,  and  moved  by  the  inspiration  of  men  to  face 
and  overcome  great  hostile  forces,  to  re-establish  and  sus 
tain  the  primal  rights  of  men,  exercised  an  irresistible 
influence  upon  the  population,  and  at  once  and  forever 
silenced  the  open  utterance  of  sedition  and  rebellion. 
There  were  no  open  assaults  and  no  secret  assassinations. 


10  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [Feb.  1861- 

The  population  of  the  District  was  then  about  75,000, 
of  which  the  city  of  Washington  contained  61,000  ;  1 5,000 
of  these  were  colored,  including  a  fraction  over  3000 
slaves.  The  old  slavery  code  of  Maryland,  and  indeed 
all  the  laws  in  force  in  that  State  at  the  cession  to  the 
United  States  in  1800,  were  the  law  of  the  District.  The 
presence  of  slavery  is  always  attended  with  sore  disabili 
ties  to  the  nominally  free  of  the  slave  race. 

Mr.  Lincoln  passed  Baltimore  in  safety.  Just  what  the 
danger  was  is  a  mystery.  My  first  day  at  the  Capital  was 
given  to  Congress.  On  the  morning  of  the  second  I  called 
upon  the  President-elect  at  the  Willard.  I  found  him  on 
the  second  floor,  in  the  large  space  in  front  of  the  stairway, 
holding  an  extempore  reception.  He  was  in  wonderful 
spirits,  surrounded  by  twenty  or  thirty  admiring  adher 
ents,  standing  at  his  full  height,  which,  from  his  lack  of 
breadth,  always  seemed  exaggerated.  His  face  was  fairly 
radiant,  his  wit  and  humor  at  flood-tide.  His  marvellous 
gift  of  improvising  illustrative  stories  was  at  its  best. 
They  followed  each  other  with  great  rapidity.  In  the 
midst  of  the  flow,  the  majestic  form  of  General  Scott  was 
seen  grandly  rising  in  the  open  stairway,  steady  and  un 
swerving,  as  if  solemnly  lifted  by  noiseless  machinery. 
He  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  travelling  friend, 
Colonel  Sumner.  I  had  seen  General  Scott  when  along 
our  northern  border  in  1834,  pacifying  the  "  Hunters' 
lodges "  of  hair-brained  volunteers,  for  "  the  Patriot 
wars,"  to  liberate  Canada,  as  we  called  the  movement. 
As  he  gained  the  floor  it  was  easy  to  fancy  that  one  in 
centive  to  the  coveted  rank  of  Lieutenant-General  was 
the  excuse  to  design,  and  above  all  to  wear,  the  magnifi 
cent  uniform  in  which  he  then  shone.  It  was  the  first 
meeting  of  these  remarkable  men  since  Mr.  Lincoln's 
election.  The  General  advanced  a  stride  and  awaited  the 
presentation  by  Colonel  Sumner,  who  in  undress  uniform 
made  it  in  the  simplest  manner.  It  would  do  the  drawing- 


March  1861]  WASHINGTON  IN  1861.  II 

room  dudes  of  to-day  good,  with  whom  the  gentlemanly 
art  of  bowing  is  a  lost  one,  to  have  witnessed  the  profound 
grace  of  the  old  hero's  acknowledgment  of  the  presence 
of  the  President-elect,  as  he  swept  his  instep  with  the 
golden  plumes  of  his  chapeau. 

Two  weeks  later,  I  was  present  at  the  White  House 
when  the  General  presented  his  officers  to  the  President. 
I  had  seen  Mr.  Lincoln  at  an  earlier  hour,  and  was  asked 
by  him  to  remain.  A  day  or  two  before  I  had  witnessed 
the  presentation  of  the  diplomats  by  Mr.  Seward,  and 
was  curious  to  compare  the  two  bodies  of  men.  I  had 
not  long  to  wait.  From  an  upper  window  I  observed  the 
approach  of  the  party  to  the  front  door,  which  everybody 
then  entered  as  they  would  a  hotel.  Mr.  Cameron,  Sec 
retary  of  War,  the  least  conventional  of  men,  and  General 
Scott,  were  at  the  head  of  the  two  files.  Without  a  pause, 
Mr.  Cameron  opened  the  door  and  entered.  Not  thus 
did  the  magnificent  General  call  upon  the  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  American  armies.  He  drew  himself  up  and 
awaited  the  return  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  ran  out 
again  to  see  what  the  trouble  was.  On  his  appearance, 
General  Scott  with  his  own  hand  rang  the  bell  in  a  stately 
way,  and  on  the  appearance  of  the  proper  attendant, 
gravely  entered,  with  his  official  chief.  The  entire  party 
numbered  fourteen  or  fifteen.  I  had  never  seen  an  equal 
number  of  such  fine-appearing  men  in  uniform.  All  were 
above  the  average  American  height  and  remarkably  well 
made.  Among  them  were  Wool,  Sedgwick,  and  Lee, 
grave,  handsome  men,  a  striking  contrast  to  the  foreign 
representatives  writh  their  small  active  frames  clad  in 
brocaded  and  embroidered  coats,  bowing  and  dancing 
about.  Save  the  Englishmen,  there  was  among  the  diplo 
matic  visitors  not  a  striking-looking  man. 

At  the  Willard  House  interview,  Colonel  Sumner,  with 
Mr.  Lincoln's  aid,  introduced  us  to  General  Scott,  who  had 
a  very  gracious  way  of  receiving  those  who  approached 


12  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.    [Feb.-Mar.  1861 

him  duly  presented.  I  saw  something  of  him  later.  From 
the  Willard  I  went  to  call  on  Mr.  Chase  at  the  Rugby, 
now  the  Hamilton,  some  distance  out  of  the  real  city,  as 
then  built,  at  the  corner  of  K  and  I4th  Street,  N.  W.1 
From  there  north  and  west  were  few  buildings  within  the 
city  limits.  Mr.  Chase  had,  as  I  knew,  been  offered  the 
Treasury  portfolio,  and  was  in  the  sorest  of  straits  as  to 
his  duty  in  the  premises.  He  had  just  been  returned  to 
the  Senate,  and  the  intensely  radical  among  us  were  very 
anxious  to  have  him  remain  there.  Where  the  choice  of 
the  President  for  his  Cabinet  would  fall,  was  the  gravest 
of  problems  up  to  the  all-revealing  4th  of  March.  While 
I  was  very  desirous  that  he  should  remain  in  the  Senate, 
I  was  very  clear  it  was  his  duty  to  accept  the  Treasury  port 
folio  ;  I  found  that  one  of  his  objections  was  his  utter 
want  of  knowledge  as  to  the  man  selected  for  the  State 
Department. 

A  thing  much  talked  of  at  the  time  in  the  Capital  was 
that  Mr.  Lincoln,  on  Sunday  the  3d,  gave  a  dinner  to 
seven  gentlemen,  and  they  happened  to  be  those  whose 
names  were  sent  to  the  Senate  the  next  day.  Yet  it  was 
said  that  several  of  them  at  that  dinner  party  were  not 
informed  of  their  intended  associates.  I  was  enabled  on 
the  Thursday  or  Friday  of  that  week  to  inform  Mr.  Chase 
that  Mr.  Seward  was  to  be  the  chief  of  the  Cabinet,  which 
was  to  him  a  great  relief.  I  did  not,  however,  know  the 
name  of  any  of  the  others,  except  Mr.  Seward,  selected  by 
the  President-elect,  nor  did  any  one  save  Mr.  Chase  learn 
from  me  the  source  of  my  information,  nor  what  it  was. 

1  Initials  indicating  direction  are  from  the  Capitol. 


CHAPTER  III. 


LINCOLN'S  INAUGURATION. 

MARCH  4-1 1,    l86l. 

The  Inauguration — General  Scott's  Precautions — The  Inaugural  Address — 
Mr.  Buchanan  Bears  Himself  Manfully— The  Ball— Mt.  Vernon  Then 
and  Now — Alexandria — The  Congressional  Cemetery — The  White 
House. 

MONDAY  morning,  March  4,  1861,  opened  dark  and 
rainy.  Since  mid-January,  there  had  been  publications  at 
Baltimore  and  Richmond,  whisperings  and  mutterings  in 
the  air,  of  assassination  and  a  bloody  prevention  of  the 
inauguration  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  General  Scott  had  sum 
moned  to  his  aid  all  the  spare  officers,  and  as  many  of  the 
regular  soldiers  as  he  could  reach.  The  regular  army 
contingent  was  small — less  than  a  thousand.  While  there 
was  a  glittering  show  of  militia  companies  in  the  proces 
sion,  none  of  us  had  any  confidence  in  them,  if  soldiers 
were  needed.  No  apprehension  was  felt  of  an  open, 
armed  invasion,  but  the  suspicion  of  intended  murder  was 
talked  over,  dwelt  upon,  and  magnified,  till  it  took  the 
form  of  a  definite  fear.  I  knew  there  was  deposited 
about  the  Capitol  a  supply  of  effective  navy  revolvers. 
The  trouble  always  is  that  men,  however  brave,  who  are 
raw  in  the  use  of  weapons,  usually  become  nervous  when 
occasions  arise  for  their  use,  and  with  guns  and  pistols 

13 


14  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.  [Mar.  4- 

they  become  as  dangerous  to  their  fellows  as  to  any  sup 
posed  enemy.  Many  of  us  were  supplied  with  our  own 
familiar  arms,  and  some  of  us  could  have  used  them  with 
discretion. 

The  House  and  the  members-elect  were  conducted  to 
places  in  the  well  arranged  Senate  Chamber  at  1 1  A.M. 
The  President-elect,  on  the  arm  of  the  President,  and  the 
members-elect  of  his  Cabinet,  entered  a  little  past  twelve. 
I  had  seen  and  heard  Mr.  Buchanan  at  the  rival  Demo 
cratic  conventions  at  Erie,  September  10,  1849,  and  then 
rather  admired  him,  Whig  as  I  was.  He  was  now  old, 
with  a  sad,  worn,  withered,  white  face,  stouter  and  seem 
ingly  shorter,  with  his  well  developed  head  in  its  fixed 
inclination  to  the  left  shoulder.  He  had  an  air  of  resolve 
and  bore  himself  well.  My  compassion  went  out  at  once 
to  the  retiring,  fallen  man.  Everybody  pressed  forward, 
eager  to  see  the  incoming  ruler.  The  crowd  that  day 
was  largely  the  haters,  the  revilers,  the  scorners,  of  the 
sad  and  seemingly  friendless  and  deserted  old  man  ;  they 
crowded  and  pushed  him  rudely  by,  without  a  word  or 
bow,  and  all  through  the  awfully  trying  two  hours  he 
bravely  and  manfully  bore  himself  by  the  side  of  his  over 
shadowing,  unshapely  successor.  I  was  glad  for  his  sake 
when  he  was  liberated,  and  might  go  away  in  peace. 

In  the  accident  of  places  on  the  broad  extemporized 
platform  (which  extended  out  over  the  wide  steps  leading 
up  to  the  rotunda  in  front  of  the  Capitol),  I  was  landed 
within  four  or  five  feet  of  Mr.  Lincoln  when  he  delivered 
his  memorable  and  most  fortunate  address.  Never  was 
there  a  more  persuasive  speaker.  His  quaint  logic  and 
taking,  unaccustomed  ways  were  absolutely  irresistible. 
His  vocabulary  was  limited,  he  used  mainly  the  simple 
words  that  one  learns  in  childhood,  which  are  always  the 
most  serviceable,  and  which  arrange  themselves  easily, 
delivering  their  burden  of  thought  with  certainty  and 
force  to  the  minds  to  which  they  are  addressed.  Perhaps 


Mar.  11, 1861]         LINCOLN'S  1NA  UGURA  TION.  1 5 

there  was  never  a  more  immediately  effective  address 
delivered  to  men  than  this  quaint,  masterly  performance ; 
an  impression  only  deepened  by  after-study  and  reflec 
tion.  It  was  in  many  respects  the  greatest  service  to  his 
country  of  any  single  labor  of  Mr.  Lincoln's.  As  a 
forensic  effort  it  was  as  effective  as  that  delivered  at  the 
Gettysburg — that  was  to  be. 

Uninterrupted,  the  whole  ceremony  passed  with  eclat. 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  now  the  President,  and  stout  old 
James  Buchanan  conducted  him  to,  and  gave  him  full 
possession  of,  the  rather  dilapidated,  and  then  wholly  un 
attractive  Executive  Mansion. 

We  did  not  see  General  Scott  in  the  procession.  He  had 
a  battery  stationed  at  the  intersection  of  Delaware  Avenue 
and  B  Street,  near  which,  with  his  aids  and  spare  generals, 
he  spent  the  time.  The  sun  went  down  with  the  new 
power  in  full  possession  of  the  Capitol,  its  hands  firmly 
grasping  the  reins  of  Government,  and  with  all  hearts 
full  of  the  hope  and  confidence  inspired  by  the  President's 
address. 

THE  BALL. — A  hall  had  been  extemporized  in  Judiciary 
Square,  in  the  rear  of  the  City  Hall.  I  remember  we 
passed  through  a  colonnade  and  a  badly  lighted  corridor 
to  the  back  part  of  the  Hall,  and  down  a  stairway  to  a 
huge,  unfestive-looking  apartment.  There  we  saw  the 
short  and  heavily  formed  Douglas  promenading  with  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  who  recognized  me.  They  were  old  Springfield 
friends,  and  were  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Hamlin,  attended 
by  the  gallant  Colonel  Baker.  The  ball  was  opened  by 
Mrs.  Lincoln.  I  am  sure  Douglas  was  not  a  dancing  man. 
Later,  when  the  crisis  came,  he  frankly  placed  himself  by 
Lincoln's  side,  and  made  some  effectively  loyal  speeches. 
He  received  much  deserved  commendation  for  his  course. 
Was  it  not  due  from  him  to  his  country  ?  Repudiated 
by  the  South,  there  was  no  other  course  open  for  him, 
especially  as  by  this  means  he  could  deal  the  most  telling 


1 6  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.  [Mar.  4- 

blows  to  his  former  Southern  allies,  whose  work  he  had  so 
often  bravely  done. 

That  week  was  for  me  one  of  idleness.  The  Cabinet 
appointees  were  to  be  confirmed  ere  the  work  for  the  offices 
could  begin.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Blairs,  and 
found  I  should  get  on  well  with  them.  They  brought 
out  Fremont  in  '56,  for  whom  I  did  much  service. 
There  was  a  pilgrimage  to  Mount  Vernon  on  a  dark, 
snowy  day,  in  a  shell  of  a  steamer  whose  deck  was  level 
with  the  river's  brim.  We  made  an  hour's  call  at  di 
lapidated  Alexandria,  loneliest  of  towns.  It  had  got 
itself  returned  to  Virginia  by  act  of  Congress  in  1846, 
and  has  since  gained  as  many  fifties  in  population  as 
Washington  has  thousands.  From  1870  to  1880  its  gain 
was  less  than  five  hundred.  The  Potomac,  from  the  Cap 
ital  down,  is  not  an  interesting  river.  There  is  the  little 
old  stone  Fort  Washington,  below  Alexandria,  and  Mount 
Vernon  three  or  four  miles  below  that.  Looking  at  Wash 
ington's  resting-place  as  I  did  then,  under  the  dark-gray 
wintry  sky,  beyond  the  curtain  of  leafless  forest,  on  the 
height  of  the  overhanging  bank,  it  struck  me  as  the  lone 
liest  place  I  had  ever  seen.  I  have  seen  it  since  its  resto 
ration,  under  every  condition  and  at  every  season,  and 
that  impression  still  remains.  There  was  not  then  a  sign 
of  another  human  habitation  in  the  wide  outlook  from 
the  height  where  it  stands.  That  was  the  time  when  the 
mansion,  long  abandoned  by  its  last  owner,  was  at  its 
lowest  stage  of  dilapidation,  which  extended  to  every 
outbuilding,  servants'  quarter,  stable,  and  office.  Who 
ever  has  visited  it  since  its  restoration  can  form  no  con 
ception  of  the  silent  reign  of  "  the  abomination  of 
desolation  "  that  then  brooded  over  the  home  and  tomb 
of  George  Washington.  I  never,  while  there,  repress  a 
rising  compassion,  that  the  Father  of  his  country  should 
have  lived  in  a  place  so  lonely  and  so  far  from  the  active 
world.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  realize  that  Washing- 


M  ar .  1 1 , 1 8  6 1  ]         LINCOLN'S  IN  A  UG  URA  TION.  1 7 

ton's  residence  made  it  a  centre  for  the  American  historic 
and  social  world  of  the  time. 

There  was,  within  the  city  limits,  one  even  more 
melancholy  and  depressing  place  than  Mount  Vernon, 
the  Congressional  Cemetery,  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Anacostia,  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Potomac.  I  went 
there  a  day  or  two  after  the  excursion  to  Mount  Vernon. 
No  resting-place  ever  struck  me  with  such  a  shuddering 
sense  of  inappropriateness  as  this,  with  its  hideous  and 
squat  little  gray  stone  cenotaphs,  set  up  to  desecrate  the 
final  beds  of  extinguished  senators  and  members  of  the 
House.  I  was  relieved  on  learning  that  members  of  Con 
gress  were  no  longer  doomed  to  sepulture  there,  nor  was 
their  sleep,  wherever  it  might  be,  to  be  disturbed  by  the 
consciousness  that  would  certainly  haunt  them,  that  one 
of  these  ugly  little  monsters  of  coarse  Potomac  freestone 
had  been  set  up  to  defame  their  names  and  memories. 

The  rest  of  the  week  was  devoted  to  delegations, 
attendance  upon  the  Senate,  and  a  large  correspondence. 
Friday  night  was  the  President's  first  levee,  for  the  wide, 
muddy  footed  world  at  large.  I  was  at  the  White  House 
on  the  Illinois  day,  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  showed  the  throngs 
over  the  house.  Friday  night  must  have  obliterated  the 
memory  of  all  former  days  and  nights  of  tramping  hordes 
and  herds. 

A  visitor  at  the  White  House  about  the  time  of  the 
exit  of  Mr.  Buchanan  would  have  been  struck  by  the 
bare,  worn  and  soiled  aspect  of  that  part  of  the  house 
devoted  to  the  official  Executive,  an  aspect  not  unlike  that 
presented  by  "  the  breaking  up  of  a  hard  winter  "  about  a 
deserted  farmstead. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

MARCH,    l86l. 

The  Civil  Service  of  that  Day — The  Cleveland  Post-Office — A  Once  Famous 
Contest — The  Candidates — Senator  Wade  an  Opponent — An  Unfor 
tunate  Victory  for  the  Victor. 

THE  Civil  Service  was,  like  everything  else,  in  a  bad 
condition.  It  seemed  to  be  the  prevailing  idea  that  pub 
lic  business  at  Washington  was  approaching  an  end,  and 
the  officials  acted  accordingly.  The  work  of  all  the  De 
partments  was  sadly  in  arrears.  The  public  offices  were 
apparently  used  chiefly  as  lounging-places,  where  men 
gathered  to  read  Democratic  papers,  smoke,  chew  to 
bacco,  and  damn  Lincoln  and  his  myrmidons.  The  pay 
rolls  bore  scores  of  names,  the  owners  of  which  never 
rendered  an  hour's  service  to  the  United  States. 

The  dispensation  of  all  the  local  patronage  of  a  given 
Congressional  district  was  then  the  inviolable  perquisite 
of  a  member  in  accord  with  the  administration,  and  was 
used  for  his  political  purposes.  I  went  to  Washington 
opposed  on  principle  to  this  rule.  I  found  however  that 
I  must  dispose  of  the  patronage  or  leave  it  as  prey  to  men 
of  the  orthodox  faith.  With  no  friends  to  be  compen 
sated  and  with  no  enemies  in  any  sense,  I  had  no  mo 
tive  but  to  secure  the  best  public  service,  and  I  acted 
accordingly. 

18 


Mar.  1861]  THE   CIVIL   SERVICE.  19 

The  first  cases  brought  under  my  notice  for  a  motion  or 
appointment,  pertained  to  the  Democracy.  One  was  that  of 
a  younger  brother  of  the  famous  S.  S.  Cox  (then  of  Colum 
bus,  Ohio),  who  was  for  several  years  a  clerk  in  the  Treas 
ury  Department.  I  had  been  in  the  Ohio  Assembly 
during  the  attempt  of  the  Democracy  (under  the  lead  of 
Samuel  Medary)  to  revolutionize  the  State  government 
in  1848-49.  S.  S.  Cox,  then  a  young  man  of  genius, 
aspiration,  and  quick  parts,  affected,  though  a  Democrat, 
a  very  warm  admiration  for  some  of  my  utterances  during 
the  three  or  four  weeks  of  general  dismay  attending  the 
effort  of  the  Democracy  to  seize  and  convert  the  House 
to  their  own  purposes.  Blake,  one  of  my  colleagues  then 
in  his  second  Congress,  a  restless,  aspiring  man,  had 
sought  notoriety  by  repeated  tilts  against  "  Sunset " 
(Cox),  who  was  a  man  of  fine  fancy,  who  had  already 
achieved  a  well  earned  literary  reputation,  and  whose 
sobriquet  had  come  to  him  through  a  glowing  descrip 
tion  of  a  sunset,  to  which  his  initials  aptly  lent  themselves. 
In  these  encounters  Blake  had  always  been  worsted,  and 
his  antagonism  to  Cox  led  him  to  demand  the  removal  of 
the  younger  brother.  Powerless  himself,  I  was  the  only 
possible  Republican  to  whom  the  elder  Cox  could  apply. 
On  inquiry,  I  found  the  record  of  the  clerk  was  excellent 
for  service,  modest  worth,  good  work,  and  faultless  de 
meanor.  I  repaired  to  Secretary  Chase,  in  whose  depart 
ment  the  younger  Cox  served,  and  asked  for  his  retention. 
He  said  if  I  would  assume  the  responsibility,  and  place 
on  file  an  official  request  for  the  retention,  he  would  make 
an  order  to  that  effect.  I  filed  the  paper,  and  the  order 
followed. 

Henry  M.  Slade,  one  of  my  constituents,  the  younger 
son  of  the  late  Governor  Slade  of  Vermont,  a  young  man 
of  parts,  fine  acquirements,  manners,  and  social  qualities, 
but  an  outspoken  Democrat,  came  to  Washington  with  no 
political  prospects.  I  took  him  to  Mr.  Chase,  who  had  no 


20  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [Mar,  1861 

prejudices  against  Democrats,  and  who  gladly,  on  my 
recommendation,  obliged  a  son  of  Governor  Slade.  My 
action  in  these  two  cases  did  not  commend  me  to  my 
Republican  colleagues,  none  of  whom,  however,  cared  to 
call  me  to  account. 

I  had  in  my  mind  to  secure  the  Cleveland  post-office 
for  Edwin  Cowles.  It  would  lie  between  him  and  George 
A.  Benedict,  between  the  old  conservative  Herald  and 
the  infant  red-blooded  Leader.  Cowles  had  physical 
defects.  His  utterance  was  very  imperfect,  his  voice  un 
pleasant,  and  his  hearing  singularly  defective.  He  died 
an  old  man,  never  having  heard  the  higher  strains  of 
music,  nor  the  notes  of  singing  birds.  His  mind  was 
strong,  slow,  sinewy,  and  narrow ;  his  notions  of  right 
and  wrong,  acute.  He  was  kind-hearted  and  charitable. 
Devoted  to  friends,  he  was  more  devoted  to  enemies.  His 
workmen,  all  in  his  service,  were  steadfastly  loyal  and 
true,  never  leaving  him  in  distress,  and  although  often 
unpaid  never  willing  to  desert  him.  They  believed  they 
could  depend  upon  final  reward,  and  they  felt  assured  of 
the  kindest  treatment.  This  I  came  fully  to  know. 

Benedict  was  not  a  lovable  man.  He  was  a  college 
graduate,  and  had  much  vigor  of  mind.  He  was,  however, 
affected  by  strong  passions,  grudges,  and  prejudices ;  un 
der  the  influence  of  these  he  became  unscrupulous  and 
vindictive.  He  had  not  succeeded  at  the  bar,  and  was  an 
indifferent  writer.  His  rival,  Cowles,  at  the  first  also 
scarcely  attempted  the  pen.  These  were  the  men  whose 
shadows  were  projected  on  the  field  of  my  brief  Congres 
sional  career.  Neither  was  personally  nor  politically  my 
friend.  I  had  associated  the  more  frequently  with  Benedict, 
with  whom  I  had  made  one  or  two  political  tours. 

I  had  suggested  to  Cowles,  during  the  winter,  the  idea 
of  the  Post-Office.  In  his  need.s  and  ambition  he  had 
thought  of  that,  but  had  not  approached  me.  I  said  to 
him  that  it  came  to  me  as  a  possibility.  I  knew  the  risk 


Mar,  1861]  THE   CIVIL   SERVICE.  21 

to  myself  of  proposing  him,  but  the  danger  was  not  with 
out  a  charm.  Ere  the  matter  had  taken  final  shape,  I  was 
dismayed  by  his  appearance  at  the  Capitol.  Of  all  men 
living,  he  was  the  greatest  hindrance  to  his  own  success. 
He  found  me  at  Mrs.  Carter's  on  Capitol  Hill.  He  was 
with  me  on  the  evening  after  his  arrival.  I  had  an  im 
mense  mail,  was  opening  and  answering  each  letter  in 
course.  Among  them  was  the  following  : 

CLEVELAND,  March  5,  1861. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

This  is  pure  business  between  us.     If  you  will  recommend  me  for  Post 
master  and  stand  by  me,  I  will  give  you  $2,000,  whatever  the  outcome. 

Respectfully, 


The  writer  of  the  above  was  a  well  known  and  reputa 
ble  business  man,  well  connected,  and  of  high  standing  in 
his  Church. 

Turning  to  my  paper  and  pen,  I  handed  the  note  across 
the  table  to  Cowles  and  an  instant  later  the  following : 

WASHINGTON,  March  8,  1861. 

MR. : 

Yours  of  the  5th  received  this  inst.  Its  contents  render  you  ineligible  to 
any  place  under  this  administration. 

A.  G.  RIDDLE. 

As  his  eye  took  it  in,  he  sprang  up,  strode  around  in 
front  of  me,  and  with  solemnity  of  manner  asked  :  "  Rid 
dle,  where  were  you  born  ?  "  As  if  the  favored  place  was 
to  be  commemorated. 

The  struggle  for  the  Post-Office  was  for  him  a  vital 
matter,  to  be  pushed  by  all  possible  means,  and  I  had  re 
solved  that  he  should  secure  it. 

The  next  forenoon  I  filed  my  application  for  the  ap 
pointment  of  Mr.  Cowles  in  the  Post-Office  Department, 
a  simple  request  unsupported  by  any  statement  except 

1  This  letter  is  still  among  my  papers. 


22  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [Mar.  1861 

that  the  Post-Office  was  at  my  place  of  residence.  In 
five  minutes  I  impressed  Mr.  Blair,  and  the  judicial  mind 
of  young  Kasson,1  with  the  grounds  upon  which  I  acted. 
They  saw  at  the  time  that  I  intended  to  have  my  way. 

I  was  then  shown  the  petition  for  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Benedict.  Among  the  papers  was  the  formidable 
recommendation  of  Senator  Benjamin  F.  Wade,  for  whom 
Montgomery  Blair  had,  next  to  his  father,  more  regard, 
admiration  and  veneration  than  for  any  other  man  living 
or  dead,  unless  it  might  have  been  Andrew  Jackson. 

I  also  lodged  with  Mr.  Nicolay  a  brief  statement  for 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  delivered  to  the  President  the  same 
condensed  statement  made  to  Mr.  Blair.  I  then  betook 
myself  to  Mr.  Wade's  quarters — at  Mrs.  Hyatt's  on  Penn 
sylvania  Avenue — between  Sixth  and  Seventh  Streets. 
Mr.  Wade  was  out,  and  I  busied  myself  as  I  had  before, 
with  his  authority,  in  franking  to  my  lady  friends  the 
many  finely  illustrated  Congressional  publications  of  that 
day.  The  rooms  were  piled  around  with  them.  I  also 
found  walled  about  with  "  Pub.  Docs."  a  huge  demijohn 
labelled  "  Monongahela  " — a  favorite  brand  with  the  stout 
old  Senator.  When  the  grim  proprietor  came  in  I  had 
some  decisive  words  with  him.2 

He  saw  the  force  of  my  position  and  assured  me  that 
his  interference  was  limited  to  the  testimonial  just  shown 
me,  and  the  word  he  had  spoken  to  the  President,  to 
which  Benedict  was  certainly  entitled  from  him.  The 
Herald  had  always  stood  by  the  Senator. 

1  Mr.  John  A.  began  his  very  useful  and  brilliant  public  career  as 
Assistant  Postmaster-General,  under  Mr.  Blair.  He  was  a  man  whom  I 
liked. 

"He  had  been  the  tender  benefactor  of  a  large-brained,  large-natured 
elder  brother  of  mine,  educated  to  the  bar,  whom  he  sent  forth  arrayed  as 
the  Senator  had  never  been  draped  himself,  and  who  died  shortly  afterward  of 
a  brain  disease.  I  had  thus  the  strongest  personal  claims  on  the  Senator. 
Whoever  renders  me  a  great  service  thereby  binds  himself  to  me  for  all 
time. 


Mar.  1861]  THE   CIVIL   SERVICE.  2$ 

Richard  C.  Parsons,  a  personal  friend  of  Gov.  Chase,  a 
member  of  his  staff,  and  the  Speaker  of  the  Ohio  House 
of  Representatives,  desired  a  consul-generalship.  Mr. 
Chase  gave  me  a  note  to  Mr.  Seward,  with  whom  I  had 
an  interview.  I  found  that  Paris  was  spoken  for,  and 
London  was  also  promised,  as  were  other  desirable  capi 
tals.  Rio  was  offered  and  accepted,  and  the  Speaker  of 
the  Ohio  House  of  Representatives  was  advised  by  tele 
graph. 

I  had  now  been  nearly  a  month  at  the  Capital,  and  had, 
as  I  felt,  put  my  Cleveland  Post-Office  into  the  safest 
attainable  shape,  and  with  assurances  from  the  President, 
entrusted  to  Mr.  Nicolay,  my  steady  friend,  and  with  like 
assurances  from  Mr.  Blair,  that  no  adverse  appointment 
should  be  made  without  notice  and  "  a  day  in  court "  to 
me  I  returned  home.  Colonel  Parsons  needed  an  airing  in 
the  Capital.  On  my  way  home  we  met  and  unwittingly 
passed  on  our  respective  trains.  Colonel  Parsons  showed 
himself  at  all  the  public  places  of  the  Capital  then  open, 
having  on  his  arm  the  eldest  Miss  Chase,  who  was  the 
loveliest  and  most  fascinating  young  woman  of  my  time, 
in  Washington  life.  Among  his  achievements  was  an 
hour's  speech  to  the  Postmaster-General  against  my  luck 
less  nominee  for  the  Cleveland  Post-Office,  and  from 
Blair's  account  of  it  to  me  it  was  effective — as  of  course  it 
would  be.  I  never  learned  the  details  of  his  address  to 
Mr.  Lincoln.  This  course  was  no  treason  to  me.  He  ap 
peared  in  his  own  right  as  a  citizen  of  our  city,  and  in  be 
half  of  the  majority,  I  have  no  doubt,  who  did  not  approve 
my  course. 

The  case  hung  fire.  Rumors  of  disaster  came  from  the 
Capital.  I  heard  that  Cowles  had  gone  there,  and  knew 
that,  like  the  great  Walt  Whitman,  he  would  "  raise  his 
yop  over  the  roofs "  of  the  Capital.  I  summoned  him 
back  and  hurried  myself  to  Washington.  I  found  that  the 
nomination  of  Benedict  had  been  sent  to  the  President 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES. 


[Mar.  1861 


ten  days  before  my  arrival.  I  drove  rapidly  to  the 
White  House.  Mr.  Lincoln  sent  for  the  papers,  which 
bore  only  the  name  of  Mr.  Kasson.  It  was  a  Presidential 
appointment,  and  required  Blair's  "  M.  B."  It  was  a  tub 
thrown  to  my  enemy.  The  papers  were  given  to  me,  and 
I  hurried  to  the  Post-Office  Department.  Mr.  Blair  placed 
the  magical  "  M.  B."  on  my  application  for  Cowles,  under 
which  the  President  wrote  the  conclusive  "  A.  L."  The 
next  morning  I  took  back  to  Cleveland  Cowles's  commis 
sion.  As  will  appear  later,  the  victory  was  as  fatal  to 
the  victor  as  that  of  the  famous  Epirote  King  over  the 
Romans,  though  it  was  the  making  of  the  Leader.  Rome 
was  of  more  value  to  the  world  than  was  Epirus. 
All  the  other  places  in  question  I  had  for  the  asking. 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  WAR. 

APRIL,    l86l. 

The  Fall  of  Sumter— The  North  Called  to  Arms— The  Volunteers- 
Congress  to  Assemble  July  4th. 

THE  epoch-making  April  I4th  arrived,  with  the  fall  of 
Sumter,  followed  by  the  President's  Proclamation  of  the 
1 5th,  calling  for  75,000  soldiers  to  enforce  the  laws  of  the 
United  States.  The  men  of  the  North  heard  in  it  the 
voice  of  God  calling  the  people  to  enforce  His  laws,  and 
they  stood  forth  extending  their  hands  for  arms  and 
leaders.  The  President  also  summoned  Congress  to 
assemble  on  the  ensuing  4th  of  July.  The  Capital  was 
endangered,  and  four  days  later  the  unarmed  soldiers  of 
Massachusetts  were  set  upon  by  the  "  Plug  Uglies  "  and 
"  Blood  Tubs  "  in  Baltimore,  and  several  of  them  were 
slain. 

I  had  been  at  Washington  at  an  informal  interview, 
held  on  the  day  following  the  inauguration,  with  a  portion 
of  the  loyal  delegates  to  the  Virginia  State  Convention. 
They  expressed  their  entire  satisfaction  with  the  Presi 
dent's  address,  and  assured  us  that  they  had  a  majority 
of  that  convention,  that  they  could  and  would  control  it, 
and  that  Virginia  would  reject  secession.  The  fall  of 
Sumter  overwhelmed  them,  and  swept  the  slave-breeding 

25 


26  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [April  1861 

old  commonwealth  into  the  Confederacy.  It  is  true  that 
the  ordinance  of  secession  was  formally  submitted  to  the 
people  of  the  State,  but  that  was  not  waited  for.  The 
State  at  once  entered  the  Confederacy  and  doomed  her 
self  to  dismemberment  and  destruction. 

It  had  come — the  convulsion  that  was  to  destroy 
slavery.  I  hailed  it  as  such  with  a  profound,  grave,  irre 
pressible  satisfaction.  I  would  unhesitatingly  sacrifice 
the  Constitution  that  had  sheltered  it,  the  Union  which 
had  guarded  it,  as  the  one  unapproachable  thing  in  its 
innermost  embrace,  to  secure  its  extirpation.  Thank 
God  ! 

There  was  no  semblance  of  a  militia  organization  in 
Ohio.  We  had  a  thoroughly  equipped  show  company, 
the  Cleveland  Grays  ;  that  we  hurried  off,  and  we  then 
fell  to  organizing  our  first  regiments,  and  the  voice  of  the 
driller  was  heard  in  the  land.  The  men  elected  their 
officers !  the  companies  elected  their  regimental  officers. 
Governor  Denison,  who  appointed  the  Peace  Commission 
ers,  proved  himself  active  and  efficient.  The  Legislature, 
which  was  still  in  session,  passed  the  needed  statutes. 
Garfield — our  Garfield — and  J.  D.  Cox,  both  then  in  the 
Ohio  Senate,  had  mastered  the  manual  of  arms,  and  had 
devoted  months  to  military  studies.  Cox  became  colonel 
and  was  made  a  brigadier  immediately.  The  7th  Ohio 
preferred  the  handsome,  dashing  Tyler  to  Garfield,  who 
waited  for  the  4th,  and  so  took  the  Hiram  and  Oberlin 
college  boys.  McClellan  and  Rosecrans  took  twenty-two 
Ohio  regiments  into  Western  Virginia  in  May.  Camp 
Taylor  was  formed  under  my  windows  at  Cleveland,  and 
flags,  drums,  and  very  soon  buttons  and  feathers,  with 
guards  and  bayonets,  ruled.  Public  meetings  and  speeches 
were  of  daily  occurrence.  At  Painesville  two  of  my 
nephews  and  myself  early  enlisted  in  Capt.  Geo.  E. 
Paine's  Company.  He  was  a  younger  brother  of  the 
chivalrous  General  Halbert  E.  Paine  of  Port  Hudson  fame. 


April  1861]          THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE   WAR.  2/ 

The  Paines  have  furnished  generals,  colonels,  and  captains 
from  the  Revolution  down.  My  excuse  was  the  danger 
of  the  Capital,  and  I  was  under  a  pledge  to  be  in  any 
battle  fought  for  its  safety.1 

1  It  occurred  to  me  that  my  six  nephews  in  Michigan  and  Indiana,  all  I 
had  of  military  age  and  all  unmarried,  had  volunteered,  and  I  decided  to 
induce  Elmer  Riddle  to  be  withdrawn.  He  was  the ./fo«<r/ of  a  lovely  girl, 
and,  although  a  born  leader  of  men,  I  secured  his  release,  much  against  his 
wishes.  He  was  more  useful  as  a  citizen  at  home.  With  good  address  and 
popular  manners,  he  became  very  efficient  in  securing  volunteers.  It  was 
known  that  I  had  coerced  him  from  active  service.  There  was  warrior 
blood  in  the  Riddles  of  the  old  clans,  and  the  great-uncles  had  carried 
arms  to  Quebec,  and  thence,  by  way  of  Saratoga,  to  Yorktown.  Several 
had  served  with  Harrison,  Scott,  and  Brown  in  the  war  of  1812.  Of  the 
Ohio  boys,  Corwin  Riddle  served  in  the  brilliant  West  Virginia  campaign, 
entered  the  yth,  always  pushed  into  the  hottest  place,  was  severely  wounded 
at  Cedar  Mountain,  saw  both  colonels  shot  down  at  Missionary  Ridge,  and, 
in  weary  disgust,  threw  his  rifle  into  the  Cuyahoga,  when  he  crossed  it  to 
his  aunt's  house  in  Cleveland  at  the  end.  Clarence,  at  the  close  of  the 
three  months,  entered  a  battery,  refused  to  abandon  his  guns — as  many  did 
theirs  in  the  first  disastrous  day  of  Stone  River, — and  won  the  commenda 
tion  of  his  officers. 

Darius  of  Indiana  found  an  early  unknown  grave  in  the  southwest.  His 
eldest  brother,  Frank,  left  his  newly  wedded  bride  at  the  church,  and  went 
gaily  off  after  the  flag  and  drum,  and  won  for  himself  a  good  report.  Later, 
Elmer  went  with  the  Western  Reserve  boys  to  aid  threatened  Cincinnati, 
and  the  youngest  of  my  brothers,  though  exempt  from  service,  served  with 
Governor  Brough's  hundred-day  men.  There  was  still  Albert  Clark  of  In 
diana,  who  was  rejected  by  the  surgeons  at  home,  but  who  later  found  a  place 
in  a  New  Jersey  regiment,  and  fought  the  war  through.  His  aunt  finally  dis 
covered  him,  a  rugged  soldier,  across  the  Potomac,  and  his  general  permitted 
her  to  take  him  home  with  her. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
LINCOLN'S  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS. 

MAY-JULY,   l86l. 

War  Spectacles  in  Washington — The  Army  Invades  Virginia — The  Organi 
zation  of  the  House — Grow  Elected  Speaker — The  Speaker's  Prompter 
— The  Position  of  that  Congress  in  the  War — The  President's  Message 
— Soldiers  in  the  Field — Confiscation — Habeas  Corpus. 

I  TOOK  quarters  with  Mrs.  Carter.  I  spent  my  three  or 
four  days  before  the  4th  in  the  camps;  visited  the  1st 
and  2d  Ohio  Regiments  at  Falls  Church ;  dined  with 
Colonel  "  Fatty  "  McCook  and  Colonel  Mason  ;  had  a  time 
with  the  Grays,  and  renewed  my  assurance  of  being  on  the 
field  with  them  if  a  demonstration  should  be  made  on  the 
Capital.1 

There  were  then  25,000  armed  men  on  our  side  of  the 
Potomac.  The  war  was  taking  shape.  I  began  early  to 
realize  the  trouble  and  cost  of  turning  intelligent  men 
into  effective  soldiers.  Soldiers  may  fight  five  days  in  a 

1  Jim  Paine,  the  youngest  brother  of  General  Halbert  E.,  accompanied  me 
on  our  return  to  Alexandria  later  ;  we  found  no  means  of  reaching  the  Capi 
tal  that  night.  Alexandria  had  then  become  a  mere  rat-haunt,  given  over  to 
them  and  the  shabbier  rebs.  We  found  a  room  in  a  so-called  hotel.  The 
apartment  had  doors  in  opposite  walls,  which  were  without  fastenings. 
Soon  after  retiring,  a  procession  each  way  began  to  pass  through.  Soon 
weary  of  the  performance  we  placed  a  bed  against  each  door,  and,  armed 
with  my  dangerous  Remingtons,  we  cut  off  all  further  communication 
on  that  road.  They  were  a  funny-looking  lot,  and  the  so-called  master  dis 
claimed  all  knowledge  of  them  in  the  morning. 

28 


May-July  1861]      LINCOLN'S  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS.  2g 

year.  The  other  three  hundred  and  sixty  are  used  in 
securing  men  and  material,  training  and  fitting  them  for 
the  exceptional  days  on  the  field,  and  in  repairing  its  awful 
waste.  I  was  appalled  at  the  number  of  sick  in  the  hos 
pitals  which  had  already  been  set  up. 

There  was  a  grand  review  of  all  the  troops  (some  25,000 
about  Washington)  on  the  4th,  which  struck  me  as  im 
posing.  Pennsylvania  Avenue  was  filled  from  the  Treas 
ury  to  the  Capitol  with  men  in  flashing  blue,  with  arms 
sloped,  marching  in  companies  from  curb  to  curb.  That 
was  a  show,  grand  and  imposing.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
swell,  emotion  and  tears  of  a  few  days  later,  when  from  a 
little  height  I  saw  the  head  of  the  column  wheel  south 
towards  Virginia, —  regiment  on  regiment,  with  knap 
sacks,  canteens,  and  blankets ;  infantry,  artillery,  and  cav 
alry,  and  the  long  train  of  heavy  wagons.  All  headed 
south  towards  Virginia,  to  meet  the  rebels  in  arms ;  the 
issue — the  perpetuity  of  the  great  Republic.  This  was 
war.  As  the  heavy,  moving  masses  of  infantry  smote  the 
hard  surface  of  the  street,  the  sound  of  their  simultaneous 
tread  struck  the  ear  like  a  roll  of  smothered  thunder.  I 
stood  for  hours  with  my  eyes  brimming  over  from  an  emo 
tion  that  I  could  not  wholly  control.  This  was  war.  We 
should  bring  on  the  battle.  That  was  my  wish. 

At  noon  of  the  4th,  the  clerk  of  the  last  House  in  the 
great  Hall  of  Representatives  called  the  assembled  mem 
bers-elect  to  order.  Twenty-four  of  the  thirty-five  States 
responded.  K.  V.  Whaley  and  John  S.  Carlile  came  from 
Virginia — west  of  the  mountains.  Missouri,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  and  Virginia  were  represented  in  the  Union  and 
Confederate  Congresses.  There  were  many  conspicuous, 
strong  and  brave  men  in  the  House.  Mr.  Stevens  will  be 
much  spoken  of  later  on  in  this  narrative.  At  the  desk 
with  him  sat  Justin  S.  Morrill,  who  had  given  his  name  to 
a  tariff.  He  was  a  financier  and  practical  economist  to 
whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  agricultural  colleges.  E. 


30  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [May  1861- 

B.  Washburn,  John  A.  Logan,  Owen  Lovejoy,  John  A. 
McClernand,  Wm.  A.  Richardson,  and  Isaac  N.  Arnold 
were  there — all  from  Illinois.  Colfax,  Julian,  Dunn,  A. 
G.  Porter,  Holman,  and  Voorhees  of  Indiana;  Iowa  sent 
Samuel  R.  Curtis,  Vandever,  and  James  F.  Wilson ;  Crit- 
tenden,  old  Governor  Wickliffe,  Wm.  H.  Wadsworth,  and 
the  always  truculent  Burnett,  were  there  from  Kentucky. 
Later  Burnett  left  us  for  the  Confederate  Senate — where 
he  was  then  overdue. 

Maine  was  not  especially  strong.  Anson  P.  Morrill, 
Fessenden,  and  Pike  were  her  ablest.  Maryland  had 
Crisfield,  Henry  May,  Frank  Thomas,  and  others.  The 
best  from  Massachusetts  were  Judge  Thomas,  Dawes, 
Gooch,  Train,  and  Walker.  Beaman  was  the  ablest  from 
Michigan.  Windom  was  in  his  second  Congress  from 
Minnesota,  and  long  service  and  fair  common-sense  ulti 
mately  made  him  famous.  From  Missouri,  Frank  Blair 
was  the  most  conspicuous. 

New  York  had  many  strong  men  :  Corning,  Conkling, 
Fenton,  Olin,  Pomeroy,  Sedgwick,  Spaulding,  and 
Wheeler.  John  A.  Bingham,  S.  S.  Cox,  Horton,  Cutler, 
Noble,  Pendleton,  Shellabarger,  and  Vallandigham  made 
Ohio  stand  well.  Pennsylvania  was  well  represented. 
Campbell,  Covode,  Grow,  John  Hickman,  Kelley,  Mc- 
Knight,  McPherson,  and  Thad.  Stevens  would  make  any 
delegation  far  above  mediocrity.  Wm.  P.  Sheffield  saved 
the  fame  of  Rhode  Island.  Horace  Maynard,  from  se 
ceded  Tennessee,  sat  the  Congress  through  from  the  be 
ginning.  Baxter  and  Walton,  with  Morrill,  gave  Vermont 
a  high  position.  We  had  eight  from  revolted  Virginia  ; 
Carlile,  Segar,  and  Upton  for  a  time,  and  Whaley  were 
fairly  good  men,  although  Segar  proved  a  disappointment. 
Potter  was  from  Wisconsin.  Conway,1  from  Kansas,  did 
well  for  a  time. 

1  Poor  fellow,  he  finally — years  later — was  off  color,  and  I  defended  him 
for  a  comparatively  harmless  shot  into  Senator  Pomeroy's  body. 


July  1861]      LINCOLN'S  MESSAGE    TO   CONGRESS.  31 

The  Republicans  were  so  overwhelmingly  predominant 
that  no  caucuses  were  held  by  either  party  for  the  nom 
ination  of  the  House  officers.  Thad.  Stevens  nominated 
Grow  for  Speaker,  and  Frank  Blair  was  also  nominated. 
Of  the  159  votes  cast  Grow  received  71,  and  Blair  40. 
The  residue — 48 — were  scattered  among  the  Democrats, 
Crittenden,  Phelps,  Vallandigham,  Corning,  Cox,  and 
Richardson,  in  the  order  named. 

Grow,  a  man  of  safe  and  steady  views,  moderate 
ability,  and  a  tendency  towards  adjectives  and  the  floor, 
was  a  fairly  good  presiding  officer.  With  the  aid  of  the 
phenomenal  "Thad,"  who  proved  the  "shadow  of  a 
great  rock  in  a  thirsty  land  "  to  Speaker  Pennington  of 
the  36th  Congress,  the  prompter  who  guided  him,  the 
House  worked  easily.1 

Grow  appointed  Mr.  Stevens  Chairman  of  the  Ways 
and  Means.  Stevens  was  not  an  economist,  and  by  tem 
per  not  a  leader,  but  a  driver — bitter,  quick  as  electricity, 
with  a  sarcastic,  blasting  wit.  He  most  frequently  an 
swered  an  honest  inquirer  for  information  with  a  dash  of 
vitriol  in  the  face.  Short  as  he  stood,  with  his  large  head 
covered  with  a  long-haired  wig ;  broad-shouldered,  he 
usually  was  standing  when  he  discharged  his  burning, 
gall-tipped  shafts,  which  he  jerked  out  in  an  unpleasant 
voice,  and  immediately  limped  off  on  his  short  club-footed 
leg.  No  one  in  my  time  in  the  House  ever  turned  on 
him  except  Judge  Thomas  of  Massachusetts,  a  remarkably 
able  man,  who  was  a  polished  and  most  effective  speaker. 
I  fancied  he  had  prepared  his  finished  philippic  and  had 
held  it  ready.  However  that  might  be,  an  apt  and 

1  Thaddeus  Morris  was  then  about  eighteen,  tall,  well  made,  and  had 
been  a  page  at  eight  or  nine.  He  developed  a  marvellous  aptitude  for 
House  of  Representatives'  parliamentary  law,  and  was  a  few  years  later 
promoted  to  the  steps  of  the  Speaker's  throne — standing  on  his  right.  He 
carried  the  imbecile  Pennington  through  the  awful  36th  Congress,  and  con 
tinued  into,  if  not  through,  Colfax's  time  until  his  early  death. 


32  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [May  1861- 

early  occasion,  some  sarcasm  upon  the  conservative  views 
of  the  Boston  representative,  marked  his  justification. 
He  took  the  floor,  and  for  twenty  minutes,  with  flashing 
eye  and  scorching  tongue,  he  dressed  and  undressed  the 
great  Pennsylvanian  in  well-chosen  and  fitting  terms,  tell 
ing  a  great  deal  of  truth  about  him.  It  did  not  move 
Stevens  in  the  slightest.  His  face  was  usually  entirely 
colorless ;  its  hue  did  not  change  a  shade.  When  the 
sudden  storm  subsided,  Mr.  Stevens  arose  and  in  his  usual 
manner  proceeded  with  the  business  of  the  House,  and 
never  after  alluded  to  the  onset  of  the  Boston  ex-Judge. 
As  a  speaker,  while  his  matter  was  always  full  of  pith,  he 
was  at  the  best  indifferent,  he  was  not  fluent,  and  his 
voice  and  tone  were  unpleasant  and  monotonous,  his  atti 
tude  and  action  ungraceful,  his  blows  were  the  sudden, 
unexpected  flashes  and  bolts  that  blasted  and  destroyed. 
His  admiring  friend,  the  great  Judge  Black,  described 
him  in  a  constitutional  convention  of  Pennsylvania,  of 
which  they  were  members  : 

"  Thad.  Stevens  went  about  the  hall  like  a  buffalo  bull,  tossing  men 
great  and  small  on  his  horns,  this  way  and  that,  upon  the  slightest 
provocation,  or  without  any.  He  was  the  terror  of  the  whole  body,  and 
the  members  huddled  and  hurried  out  of  his  way.  Meredith  was  the 
only  man  who  directly  faced  him,  answered  him  back  blow  for  blow  and 
thrust  for  thrust,  and  they  soon  became  fast  friends." 

Fortunately  Justin  S.  Morrill  was  Mr.  Stevens's  second 
on  the  Ways  and  Means.  He  was  broad,  pleasant,  a 
born  gentleman,  and  always  ready  to  inform  and  advise. 

The  3/th  Congress,  enveloped  by  huge  armies,  with 
the  lurid  atmosphere  darkened  by  the  smoke  of  battle 
(the  artillery  of  which  shook  the  walls  within  which  its 
members  deliberated),  was  an  arena  in  which  men  could 
not  win  distinction  or  secure  the  attention  of  the  press  or 
public.  Congress  had  long  passed  the  stage  at  which  a 
name  was  made  by  a  speech  or  even  a  full  term  of  ser 
vice.  The  eyes  and  the  hearts  of  the  whole  people  were 


July  1861]      LINCOLN'S  MESSAGE   TO   CONGRESS.  33 

then  with  the  glittering,  armed  hosts,  over  which  fame 
with  her  trumpet  ever  hovered. 

Of  the  new  men  it  may  be  said  that  Judge  Thomas  of 
Massachusetts,  Shellabarge'r  of  Ohio,  Arnold  of  Illinois, 
Kelley  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Wadsworth  of  Kentucky,  all 
made  some  impression,  both  upon  the  House  and  upon 
the  outside  world. 

The  President's  Message  dealt  at  length,  with  force  and 
clearness,  upon  the  cause  of  the  extraordinary  convention 
of  Congress,  reciting  the  matter  down  to  the  proclama 
tion  of  April  1 5th,  and  carefully  delineating  the  course  of 
the  rebellion  since  that  time.  This  was  followed  by  a 
thorough  discussion  of  the  right  and  resulting  power  of 
the  States  to  withdraw  from  the  Union, — "  secession,  the 
sugar-coating  of  the  pill  Rebellion,"  with  which  the  South 
had  drugged  and  deluded  itself.  The  Executive  would 
make  the  war  decisive  and  short.  He  asked  for  400,000 
more  men  and  600,000,000  dollars. 

The  message  was  followed  by  reports  from  the  Secre 
taries  of  Treasury,  Navy,  and  War.  From  the  last  it 
appeared  that  there  were  then  in  the  field,  310,000  men, 
of  whom  80,000  were  three  months'  men,  leaving  230,000 
for  permanent  service. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  for  the  time  being  the  in 
cipient  war  had  practically  dissolved  parties.  Indeed  Mr. 
Fouke,  a  Democrat  of  Illinois,  early  presented  a  series  of 
resolutions  declaratory  of  the  present  state  of  things,  the 
first  of  which  proclaimed  that,  in  the  presence  of  this  war, 
party  lines  were  to  be  considered  as  abolished,  and  men 
were  to  unite  as  patriots.  Holman  had  already  secured 
the  adoption  of  a  resolution,  the  effect  of  which  was  to 
exclude  everything  not  bearing  directly  upon  the  cause  of 
this  called  session.  There  was  much  in  the  rest  of  the 
series  within  the  interdict  of  this  rule,  and  the  Chair  ruled 
them  out.  So  Vallandigham,  by  resolution,  undertook  to 
forbid  the  use  of  the  army  to  liberate  slaves,  while  Love- 


34  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [May  1861- 

joy  would  forbid  the  returning  of  slaves  who  might  seek 
refuge  in  our  camps,  to  their  masters.  It  was  impossible 
to  move  a  step  in  any  direction  without  encountering  this 
matter  of  slavery. 

The  first  subject  discussed  in  the  Senate  was  a  joint 
resolution,  approving  the  intervening  acts  of  the  Presi 
dent,  which  included  the  suspension  of  the  writ  of  Habeas 
Corpus.  This  resolution  underwent  much  speech-making, 
especially  by  the  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  Delaware  Sena 
tors,  and  went  over  as  unfinished  business.  Breckinridge 
was  at  his  strongest  against  it. 

Nearly  all  the  important  Acts  for  raising  and  equipping 
armies,  raising  money,  etc.,  passed  the  House  without  the 
yeas  and  nays.  Burnett,  who  soon  after  turned  up  in  the 
Confederate  Congress  and  was  turned  down  by  us,  could 
not  secure  a  sufficient  second  for  the  yeas  and  nays  on 
these  bills. 

On  some  of  the  contested  bills  in  either  House,  the 
record  of  the  yeas  and  nays,  when  taken,  illustrates  the 
sectional  and  sometimes  the  political  ground  of  the 
opposition. 

The  Confiscation  Act  passed  in  the  Senate  by  24  to  n. 
The  nays  were  Breckinridge,  Bright  (both  expelled  at  the 
next  session),  Carlile  of  Virginia,  Cowan  of  Pennsylvania 
(on  constitutional  grounds),  Johnson  of  Missouri,  Latham 
of  California,  Pearce  of  Maryland,  Polk  of  Missouri, 
Powell  of  Kentucky,  Rice  of  Minnesota,  and  Saulsbury  of 
Delaware.  In  the  House  it  passed  by  60  to  48 ;  all  the 
Democrats  and  border  State  men  except  Frank  Blair  of 
Missouri  voted  against  it. 

Senator  Rice,  a  rich  old  Indian  trader,  was  the  first 
Senator  of  Minnesota.  In  political  geology  he  was  to  be 
found  in  the  same  stratum  of  the  earth's  crust  with 
Saulsbury,  Pearce,  and  Bayard,  below  the  old  red  sand 
stone — and  without  their  excuse.  The  Senate  bill  for 
employment  of  volunteers,  passed  by  35  to  4,  the  minor- 


July  1861]      LINCOLN'S  MESSAGE    TO   CONGRESS.  35 

ity  being  Breckinridge  and  Powell  of  Kentucky,  and 
Johnson  and  Polk  of  Missouri. 

On  the  resolution  to  sustain  at  all  hazards  the  suprem 
acy  of  the  Union,  the  usual  loyal  majority  of  34  sustained 
it,  and  Breckinridge  was  the  solitary  nay.  All  his  asso 
ciates  remained  silent,  except  Saulsbury  who  voted  with 
the  majority. 

On  the  nth  of  July  the  Senate  came  to  a  vote  on  the 
expulsion  of  Mason,  Hunter,  Clingman,  Bragg,  Nicholson, 
Sebastian,  Mitchell,  Hemphill,  and  Wigfall1;  and  after  a 
vain  attempt  to  modify  it,  by  declaring  their  seats  vacant, 
the  resolution  was  adopted  by  32  to  10.  The  nays  were 
Bayard,  Bright,  Johnson  of  Missouri,  Andrew  Johnson  of 
Tennessee  (who  nearly  always  voted  with  the  Republi 
cans),  Latham,  Nesmith,  Polk,  Powell  and  Rice  of  course. 

We  of  the  House  indulged  in  the  luxury  of  one  expul 
sion — John  B.  Clark  of  Missouri,  then  in  arms  against  the 
Republic.  Frank  Blair  introduced  the  resolution,  and 
stated  that  it  was  a  known  and  undisputed  public  matter, 
that  Clark  held  a  commission  in  the  rebel  army  and  was 
with  Governor  Jackson  in  the  affair  at  Boonville,  against 
the  United  States.  No  one  questioned  the  allegations, 
but  men  grew  squeamish  or  wanted  an  excuse,  and  clam 
ored  for  an  investigation.  The  majority  were  in  unaccom 
modating  temper,  and  passed  the  resolution  94  to  45. 
Many  strong  Republicans  voted  with  the  minority ;  while 
Frank  Thomas  of  Maryland  and  J.  J.  Crittenden  voted 
with  us.  Although  reared  in  slave  States,  no  suspicion  of 
the  perfect  devotion  to  the  Union  ever  attached  to  either 
of  these  gallant  old  veterans. 

As  early  as  July  I3th  Andrew  Johnson  of  Tennessee 
presented  the  credentials  of  Mr.  Carlile  and  Mr.  Willey, 

1  These  gentlemen  held  seats  in  the  36th  Congress,  and  their  terms  ex 
tended  into  the  37th.  When  their  States  seceded,  they  withdrew  from  the 
Senate.  None  of  them  appeared  in  the  37th,  and  at  the  time  of  this  action 
of  the  Senate  they  were  all  active  rebels. 


36  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.     [May-July  1861 

commissioned  by  a  legislature  elected  in  Virginia,  west  of 
the  Blue  Ridge,  as  the  Virginia  Legislature.  This  was  so 
held  by  the  majority,  and  they  were  admitted  by  35  to  5. 
Mr.  Powell's  amendment  to  the  army  bill,  that  the  army 
should  not  be  employed  to  subjugate  a  State,  or  destroy 
slavery,  was  rejected  by  the  Senate  by  34  to  4. 

By  the  Act  of  July  22d  500,000  volunteers  were  called 
for  to  serve  three  years — if  the  war  required  that  time 
(although  Mr.  Seward  had  said  it  would  end  in  sixty 
days,)  and  the  Acts  of  July  2Qth  authorized  an  addition 
to  the  regular  army  of  25,000  men.  We  appropriated 
$500,000,000  for  the  war. 

It  was  thus  that  the  3/th  Congress  met  the  extraor 
dinary  exigency  thrust  so  unexpectedly  upon  it ;  cer 
tainly  it  cannot  be  said  that  it  was  unequal  to  its  re 
sponsibilities,  nor  does  history  show  any  large  body  of 
men  surprised  by  a  great  emergency,  which  ever  met  it 
more  unitedly  or  with  a  more  determined  spirit. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  HISTORICAL  CONGRESSES. 
JULY,  1861. 

Comparison  of  the  Historical  Congresses — President  Washington  and  the 
ist  Congress  under  the  Constitution — Mr.  Madison  and  the  Congress 
of  1812 — Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  37th  Congress — Men  and  Methods  of  the 
War — Slavery  to  be  Preserved — Crittenden's  Joint  Resolution. 

THE  old  Continental  Congress  was  the  natural  product 
of  its  time,  convened  to  give  expression  to  its  sentiment 
and  take  counsel  of  its  exigencies.  Washington  and  the 
ist  Congress  under  the  Constitution  were  elected  to  put 
its  new  machinery  in  motion,  adjust,  superintend,  and  im 
part  life  and  vigor,  steadiness  and  courage,  to  its  infant 
processes.  Mr.  Madison  was  elected,  as  was  the  Congress 
of  1812,  in  the  midst  of  the  then  chronic  irritation  be 
tween  the  Republic  and  Great  Britain,  and  with  the  ex 
pectation  of  war  between  the  two  countries.  They 
declared  and  fought  it.  Each  body,  each  President, 
knew  what  they  were  elected  to  do. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  his  Cabinet,  and  the  3/th  Congress  were 
elected  to  do  anything,  everything,  except  what  fell 
to  them  to  do — fight  the  greatest  civil  war  of  history, 
one  of  the  enormous  wars  of  modern  times,  involving 
larger  armies  and  a  wider  theatre  than  the  Napoleonic 
wars.  It  came  upon  them  as  an  utter  surprise. 

37 


38  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.        [July  1861 

The  spirit  of  freedom  and  justice  that  finally  extirpated 
slavery  at  the  South  had  first  to  make  a  conquest  of  the 
North,  every  foot  of  which  in  1835  was  pro-slavery.  I 
remember  well  what  it  then  cost,  and  for  twenty 
years  thereafter  I  openly  and  frankly  opposed  slavery. 
The  agitation  produced  a  convulsion  that  shook  the 
whole  North  State  by  State,  aroused  all  men,  and 
converted  many.  Morally,  but  unconsciously,  the  people 
of  both  sides,  with  all  the  leaders  of  the  North,  pressed 
forward  blindly,  to  the  inevitable  war.  The  great  con 
test  passed  logically  through  all  stages — moral,  political, 
legislative,  judicial — and  no  man  of  the  North  (and  perhaps 
few  of  the  South)  was  at  first  in  the  least  aware  of  the 
tendency,  until,  armed,  they  stood  confronting  each 
other,  neither  believing  the  other  intended  very  war.  It 
amazes  us  now  to  recall  how  utterly  we  misunderstood 
each  other,  one  and  all.  On  the  morning  of  February  1 1, 
1861,  the  President-elect  started  on  his  memorable  prog 
ress  through  the  Northern  States  to  the  Capital.  He 
reached  Washington  and  found  that  seven  States  of  the 
Republic  had  organized  a  Government — a  President  and 
Congress — with  its  seat  at  Montgomery,  Alabama.  Its  con 
gress  had  convened  there  February  4th,  had  organized, 
adopted  a  constitution  on  the  /th,  and  elected  its  Execu 
tive  on  the  8th,  three  days  before  Lincoln  left  his  home 
at  Springfield.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  inaugurated  in  due  form 
(as  we  have  seen),  in  the  midst  of  secretly  armed  friends, 
who  were  greatly  relieved  when  they  saw  him  in  posses 
sion  of  the  Executive  Mansion.  Still  war  was  not  be 
lieved  in,  and  even  when  the  forts  in  Charleston  harbor 
were  reduced,  the  assembling  of  Congress  was  delayed 
till  July  4th. 

That  body  convened  to  find  over  300,000  Union  sol 
diers  in  arms.  On  the  day  of  its  opening  25,000  soldiers 
marched  through  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  At  that  time 
fully  one  third  of  the  available  military  population  of  the 


July  13611  THE  HISTORICAL   CONGRESSES.  39 

South  was  under  arms,  from  its  then  eleven  States,  with 
its  capital  at  Richmond.  How  much  time  and  blood  it 
<:ost  us  to  make  a  conquest  of  that  capital,  and  only  a 
hundred  miles  away  ! 

At  that  time  an  executive  or  legislative  position  in 
the  Government  did  not  indicate  a  man's  real  position 
towards  the  approaching  contest ;  that  depended  entirely 
upon  the  personal  qualities  of  the  individual.  In  such 
times  the  occasion  finds  men  out,  elects,  and  conducts 
them  to  their  places.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  elected  to 
carry  on  a  war,  and,  save  courage,  firmness,  purpose,  had 
few  of  a  warrior's  qualities  ;  nor  had  any  of  his  Cabinet 
larger  endowments  in  that  direction,  except  Montgomery 
Blair.  He  had  not  only  enough  belligerency  for  the 
rebellion,  but  enough  to  conduct  at  the  same  time  many 
private  and  personal  wars.  "  The  Blairs,"  said  Blair  to 
me,  "  when  they  go  in  for  a  fight,  go  in  for  a  funeral." 
He  was  at  feud  with  Stanton  before  the  rebellion  ;  they 
were  not  on  speaking  terms.  He  soon  reached  the  same 
stage  with  Chase,  in  which  Frank  Blair  was  his  ally. 

In  the  Senate,  Wade,  Chandler,  Baker,  and  one  or  two 
more  were  born  warriors.  Thad.  Stevens  and  a  very  few 
of  the  House  had  fighting  qualities.  Stanton,  when  he 
reached  the  War  Office,  developed  the  native  qualities 
which  find  exercise  in  war.  He  and  Blair  agreed  in 
two  things — boundless  admiration  for  and  confidence  in 
Wade,  and  a  determination  to  extinguish  the  rebellion. 
Blair  was  the  only  man  who  had  a  just  conception  of 
real  war.  He  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and  why  he 
and  Cameron  did  not  have  each  other's  places,  doubtless, 
was  because  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  expect  war.  Mr.  Wade, 
Stevens,  the  President,  Stanton,  and  the  average  man 
then  supposed  that  war  meant  to  march  upon  the  enemy 
by  the  shortest  route,  assail,  hang  to  him,  and  lick  him 
in  the  most  direct  way  and  in  the  least  possible  time.  I 
fear  all  men  of  that  opening  day,  not  soldiers,  had  the 


40  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.         [July  1861 

same  idea,  and  hence  the  "  On  to  Richmond ! "  cry. 
Warriors  are  born  ;  war  makes  soldiers,  and  by  a  slow 
and  awfully  expensive  process.  The  Indians  assemble 
the  warriors  of  the  tribe,  fight  a  battle,  and  go  home  ;  we 
were  aboriginal.  We  acquired  more  accurate  notions. 
We  developed  strength,  force  of  character,  became  indom 
itable,  inflexible,  and  gained  a  fixed  purpose  to  conquer. 

Mr.  Wade  soon  became  the  first  man  in  the  Senate. 
His  qualities,  experience,  temper,  even  level-headedness 
made  him  so.  During  the  entire  war  the  American  peo 
ple  knew  little,  saw  little  of  the  men  in  Congress,  and 
cared  only  that  they  should  create  and  supply  the  needed 
money,  and  back  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Secretary  of 
War. 

Thad.  Stevens,  "  Old  Thad.,"  as  the  leader  of  the  more 
popular  House — nobody  cares  much  for  the  Senate  save 
to  get  into  it, — was  the  popular  congressional  idol  of  the 
war.  Next  to  him  ranked  Wade — "  Old  Benj.  Wade,"  as 
he  had  already  become.  Of  these  two  men,  with  Edwin 
M.  Stanton,  it  may  truly  be  said  that  they  were  the  most 
revolutionary  men  on  the  Union  side  of  our  history  since 
the  days  of  the  Adamses  and  Jefferson.  They  had  one 
purpose — the  extinction  of  the  rebellion ;  they  used 
whatever  at  hand  seemed  best  fitted  for  that ;  no  scruple 
of  the  written  Constitution  troubled  either  of  them.  The 
conservative  notion  of  preserving  the  Constitution  as, 
next  to  slavery,  the  thing  not  to  be  touched,  always  and 
justly  provoked  their  derision.  At  the  very  first  the 
rebels  depended  on  the  Constitution  to  ward  us  off  from 
invasion,  nor  did  they  then  intend  to  invade  us. 

The  36th  Congress,  although  it  organized  Territories 
without  excluding  slavery,  had  the  courage,  under  the 
lead  of  Seward,  Wade,  and  Fessenden  in  the  Senate, 
and  Stevens,  E.  B.  Washburn,  Corwin,  Conkling,  Kelley, 
and  others  in  the  House,  to  reject  the  Crittenden  Com 
promise — an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  prohibiting 


July  1861]  THE  HISTORICAL    CONGRESSES.  41 

the  abolition  of  slavery :  yet  this  Congress  did  many  things 
subservient  in  its  desire  to  propitiate  the  South.  It  may 
well  be  questioned,  however,  whether  it  ever  went  so  far 
in  the  direction  of  conciliation  as  did  the  37th  at  the 
called  session  of  July  4,  1861,  as  we  shall  see. 

The  North  was  enraged.  It  would  put  down  the  re 
bellion.  It  but  blindly  felt,  and  groped  unseeing  through 
quite  all  the  first  year  of  the  war,  not  grasping  the  true 
cause  of  the  secession  nor  the  real  thing  to  be  done.  The 
war  was  to  teach  and  enforce  its  own  lesson  in  its  own 
grim  way.  There  was  not  a  dozen  of  us  in  both  Houses 
to  whom  it  was  given  to  see  from  the  start ;  much  fewer, 
if  the  early  action  of  the  two  Houses  is  an  exponent  of 
the  thought  of  individual  Senators  and  Representatives. 

Mr.  Crittenden,  now  seventy-five  years  of  age,  the 
author  of  the  Crittenden  Compromise  of  the  36th  Con 
gress,  and  who  had  been  transferred  to  the  House  to 
make  room  for  Breckinridge  in  the  Senate,  presented  his 
scarcely  less  famous  resolution  in  the  House  the  day  after 
the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run— July  22d  : 

Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  That  the  present  deplorable  civil  war  has  been  forced  upon  the 
country  by  the  disunionists  of  the  Southern  States,  now  in  arms  against  the 
constitutional  Government,  and  in  arms  around  the  Capital  ;  that  in  this 
national  emergency  Congress,  banishing  all  feelings  of  mere  passion  or 
resentment,  will  recollect  only  its  duty  to  the  whole  country  ;  that  this  war  is 
not  waged  on  their  part  in  any  spirit  of  oppression,  or  for  any  purpose  of 
conquest  or  subjugation,  or  purpose  of  overthrowing  or  interfering  with  the 
rights  of  established  institutions  of  those  States,  but  to  defend  and  main 
tain  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution  and  to  preserve  the  Union  with 
all  the  dignity,  equality,  and  rights  of  the  several  States  unimpaired, 
and  that  as  soon  as  these  objects  are  accomplished  the  war  ought  to  cease. 

In  the  full  House,  without  debate,  under  the  previous 
question,  this  resolution  was  passed — 1 17  for,  to  2  against 
it.  The  two  were  John  F.  Potter  of  Wisconsin,  and  one 
of  the  younger  of  Ohio's  new  men,  Mr.  Riddle.  Lovejoy, 
though  in  his  seat,  remained  silent.  It  was  passed  in  the 


42  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.        [July  1861 

Senate,  after  full  discussion,  by  30  for,  to  5  against  it.  All 
the  Northern  Senators  voted  for  it  save  Sumner,  who  spoke, 
but  did  not  vote,  and  Trumbull,  who  voted  against  it,  on 
verbal  grounds,  with  the  rebel  Breckinridge,  and  Polk, 
Johnson  of  Missouri,  and  Powell ;  Wade  and  Chandler 
remained  silent  and  voted  for  it ;  Hale  did  not  vote. 
The  slaveholders  voted  against  it  because  it  charged  the 
war  upon  them. 

The  Republicans,  with  Stevens  and  all  of  the  House, 
would  then  so  wage  the  war  as  to  hurt  the  South  the  least, 
and  slavery  not  at  all. 

The  resolution,  as  the  unanimous  declaration  of  Con 
gress,  so  significant  and  so  amazing,  which  no  man  of  that 
majority  now  speaks  of,  and  which  is  now  a  curious 
study,  was  everywhere  not  only  accepted  North,  but 
constituted  the  State  platform  entire  of  the  Ohio  Repub 
licans  in  1862. 

Thus  the  3/th  Congress,  called  to  this  session  by 
the  war,  whose  purpose  it  thus  defined  on  the  nine 
teenth  day  of  its  existence,  was  in  a  way  to  become  the 
great  inner  council  of  war; — a  huge  committee  of  ways 
and  means,  where  should  work  the  brain,  and  the  control 
ling  will,  and  whence  should  issue  the  law,  the  mandates, 
the  sinews,  which  together  should  accomplish  the  real 
purpose  to  be  wrought  out  by  the  war  itself ;  a  blind,  im 
pelling  force  in  turn  educating,  inspiring,  leading,  and 
governing  it.  In  this  view  the  President  merely  executed 
the  expressed  will  of  Congress.  The  great  armies,  with 
their  generals,  in  their  campaigns  and  battles,  were  the 
mere  mechanics  of  the  struggle. 

Never  was  an  unsophisticated  man  so  amazed  as  the 
gentleman  from  the  Cleveland  district,  as  the  vote  ran  on. 
For  many  minutes  I  supposed  that  I  should  vote  alone. 
Potter's  suppressed  "  No  "  but  partly  broke  the  on-sweep 
ing,  swelling  tide.  My  own  resounded  through  the  dome. 
I  could  not  keep  my  seat,  and  went  back  to  the  lobby. 


July  1861]  THE  HISTORICAL    CONGRESSES.  43 

Acquaintances  and  strangers  gathered  about  me  in  angry 
expostulation.  "  What,  under  the  heavens,  do  you  mean  ? 
Go  back  and  change  your  vote  instantly,"  came  in  various 
forms  from  a  dozen. 

At  white  heat  I  retorted :  "  In  God's  name,  gentle 
men,  what  do  you  mean  ?  Not  a  man  of  you  believes 
that  slavery  is  eternal.  Not  one  is  stupid  enough,  not- 
withstanding-  his  vote,  to  believe  that  it  can  be  abolished 
by  convention.  You  all  believe  that  it  is  to  go  out,  when 
it  does  go,  through  convulsion,  fire,  and  blood.  That 
convulsion  is  upon  us.  The  man  is  a  delirious  ass  who 
does  not  see  and  realize  this.  For  me,  I  mean  to  make  a 
conquest  of  it ;  to  beat  it  to  extinction  under  the  iron 
hoofs  of  our  war  horses.  It  has  impudently  thrust  away 
its  shield  of  the  Constitution  ;  has  dissolved  the  protect 
ing  Union ;  has  uncovered  itself,  and  shall  die.  You ! 
you  !  and  you  ! "  shaking  my  finger  in  their  scowling 
faces,  "  you  are  like  children  in  the  dark  who  have  fright 
ened  themselves  with  tales  of  child-devouring  ogres. 
You  go  tip-toeing  about,  with  scared  faces,  whispering 
low,  lest  you  waken  this  sleeping  monster,  which  will  eat 
you  all  up." 

There  were  angry  replies.  We  did  not  heed  the 
Speaker's  gavel,  and  the  door-keepers  came  to  separate 
and  hush  us.  I  had  put  myself  under  ban.  I  heard 
some  one  saying  something  of  "his  John  Brown  speech," 
and  I  was  not  to  be  heard.  Potter  and  I  became  friends ; 
but  on  our  side  of  the  House  high  looks  were  exchanged 
even  into  the  regular  session. 

The  war  was  to  educate  these  men.  Let  them  fight, 
deal  strong  and  heavy  blows  on  the  Confederacy,  for  any 
declared  purpose,  and  every  shot  and  shell,  every  bayonet 
thrust,  will  be  a  blow  that  shall  tell  heavily  against  slav 
ery.  They  will  soon  bring  themselves  to  the  desired  heat 
of  ending  that. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BULL    RUN. 

JULY,  1861. 

Bull  Run — General  Scott's  Pass — At  Centreville — Roar  of  Battle — The 
Hospital — The  Sherman  Battery — The  Panic — Scenes  on  the  Return — 
Fairfax  Court-House — Eaton  Wounded. 

AFTER  the  crossing  to  Virginia  by  the  grand  army 
under  McDowell,  rumors  of  an  approaching  battle  kept 
the  Capital  in  a  tremor  of  excitement  and  expectation, 
not  to  say  of  apprehension.  It  was  known  that  a  large 
rebel  force  was  in  and  about  Manassas.  The  art  of 
securing  accurate  information  of  an  enemy's  force  and  in 
tention  had  to  be  learned,  even  by  the  officers  of  the  old 
army.  I  very  well  remember  that  long  after  the  battle 
there  was  a  theory  that  McDowell,  in  utter  ignorance  of 
his  enemies'  force,  attacked  a  well  posted  army  of  90,000 
with  about  18,000  men,  and  cut  his  way  into  its  centre, 
and  that  his  soldiers  finally  retired  from  pure  exhaustion. 

A  day  or  two  before  the  battle  was  fought  there  was  a 
sharp  encounter  between  a  part  of  Tyler's  division  and 
the  enemy.  Colonel  Richardson  of  Illinois,  one  of  the 
heroes  of  the  Mexican  war,  was  present,  and  on  his  return 
gave  some  of  us  a  striking  description  of  it. 

I  was  under  promise  to  our  Grays,  that  if  a  battle  was 
fought  within  reach  of  Washington  I  would  join  them  if 

44 


July  1861]  BULL  RUN.  45 

possible,  and  share  their  fortunes  on  the  field.  At  the 
first,  fifteen  or  twenty  members  of  the  House  were  loud 
in  their  promises  to  witness  the  expected  battle,  which 
would  be  fought  in  the  neighborhood  of  Centreville, 
twenty-seven  miles  southwest  of  Washington,  on  the 
Warrington  turnpike.  Among  them  ncrne  seemed  more 
ardent  than  S.  S.  Cox,  who,  with  his  usual  felicity,  gives 
an  account  of  not  being  there,  in  his  very  readable  Three 
Decades  of  Federal  Legislation,  at  page  1 50.  There  also 
will  be  found  his  pass,  bearing  the  signature  of  Drake 
DeKay,  aide-de-camp,  of  Washington  fame. 

He  is  my  authority  for  those  who  actually  went : 

"Among  them  are  Colonel  Wm.  A.  Richardson  of  Illinois,  a  soldier  of 
the  Mexican  war  ;  General  Joshua  Hogan,  Isaiah  Morris,  also  of  Illinois1  ; 
Albert  G.  Riddle  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  an  eminent  lawyer  and  a  gallant 
man  ;  John  A.  Gurley,  a  Universalist  minister  (whom  Mr.  Cox  afterward 
roasted  on  the  floor) ;  and  Alfred  Ely  of  Rochester.  Senators  Wade  and 
Chandler  go  with  their  gallant  friends  to  the  front.  With  them  went 
Sergeant-at-Arms  Brown  of  the  Senate,  and  Major  Eaton  of  Michigan, 
a  friend  of  Chandler's." 

For  some  reason  Mr.  Cox  omits  the  name  of  our  other 
colleague,  Harrison  G.  Blake  of  Ohio. 

Before  going  I  consulted  General  Scott  as  to  the  pro 
priety  of  our  presence  near  the  field  or  on  it,  and  received 
from  him  the  following,  which,  with  his  signature,  still 
ornaments  a  frame  in  my  dining-room  : 

"WASHINGTON,  July  20,  1861. 

"  Pass  Hon.  A.  G.  Riddle,  M.  C.,  to  our  advance  posts,  and  back.  He 
will  be  treated  with  respect  and  consideration  by  the  officers  and  soldiers  in 

the  service  of  the  United  States. 

"  WINFIELD  SCOTT,  Commander. 

"  E.  D.  TOWNSEND,  Assistant  Adjutant-General." 

On  the  next  forenoon  after  my  return  to  Washington, 
I  wrote  to  Mrs.  Riddle  a  hasty,  yet  extended  account  of 

1  He  doubtless  meant  J.  R.  Morris  of  Ohio.  Illinois  had  no  Morris  in 
the  House  then. 


46  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.        [July  1861 

my  experience  of  the  day  of  the  battle.  It  is  now  before 
me,  dated  July  22d  ;  some  portions  of  it  will  become  my 
text.  My  party  was  made  up  of  my  colleagues,  Blake 
and  Morris,  and  Thomas  Brown,  a  distinguished  Cleve- 
lander  and  an  especial  friend  of  Governor  Chase. 

I  had  made  arrangements  to  leave  Washington  Satur 
day  night,  to  enable  me  to  join  the  Grays  before  they 
should  march  in  the  morning.  That  plan  failed.  We  did 
not  get  off  until  the  next  morning.  We  had  a  strong 
carriage,  a  pair  of  stout  horses,  a  good  driver,  a  hamper  of 
lunch,  and  four  of  the  largest  navy  revolvers — necessity 
for  the  use  of  which  I  did  not  anticipate.  I  also  had  my 
Remingtons.  We  reached  Centreville,  McDowell's  head 
quarters,  about  nine.  Some  four  miles  before  reaching  it 
we  met  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  of  three  months'  men, 
whose  time  expired  that  day,  and  who  were  hurrying 
away  to  their  homes — ere  the  battle  began — as  it  seemed 
to  me.  At  Centreville  we  found  the  reserve,  usually 
called  the  left  wing,  under  Miles,  occupying  the  southern 
slope  of  the  hill,  with  several  batteries  of  field  artillery. 
We  were  told  there  were  7000  of  all  arms.  The  battle, 
judging  by  the  ear,  began  with  a  heavy  cannonade, 
which  became  general,  one  piece,  our  thirty-pounder, 
making  itself  heard  above  the  roar. 

Then  there  was  a  cessation  of  artillery,  followed  by  a 
fierce  and  seemingly  long-continued  rattle  of  small-arms. 
The  whole  country  was  mostly  wooded,  and  though  the 
infantry  was  not  more  than  three  miles  away,  and  we 
were  at  a  considerable  elevation,  the  only  sign  to  the  eye, 
of  the  struggle,  were  clouds  of  rising  smoke  above  the 
forest.  The  sound  seemed  to  recede,  and  finally  ceased. 
After  a  considerable  interval,  it  opened  again,  became 
louder  and  of  wider  extent,  continued  for  an  hour,  re 
ceded,  and  entirely  subsided. 

At  the  second  lull — and  we  had  heard  no  word  of  how 
the  battle  went — we  pushed  forward.  Some  two  and  a 


July  1861]  BULL  RUN.  47 

half  miles  farther  on  we  came  in  sight  of  a  crowd  of  men. 
We  had  met  many,  mostly  soldiers,  straggling  back  toward 
Centreville.  By  these  we  were  told  that  the  battle  was 
over,  and  the  enemy  retreating.  We  met  several  with 
slight  wounds,  who  had  passed  the  hasty  hands  of  a  sur 
geon.  We  found  the  gathering  was  in  front  of  a  farm 
house  on  the  right,  occupied  as  an  emergency  hospital. 
There  were  hundreds  of  soldiers  and  many  officers,  who 
had  drifted  out  of  the  ranks,  and  a  sprinkling  of  civilians. 
Some  hundred  yards  beyond  was  the  margin  of  the  wood. 
Passing  the  hospital,  we  left  our  carriage,  and  Blake, 
Morris,  and  I  pushed  on — leaving  our  heavier  arms,  ham 
pers,  etc.  We  went  on  within  the  wood,  and  found  the 
1 2th  New  York  at  rest  along  the  highway,  beyond  which 
was  the  2d  Ohio. 

We  had  passed  on  the  way  from  Centreville  a  heavy 
train  of  army  wagons  at  a  standstill,  extending  from 
headquarters  past  the  hospital  into  the  woods,  in  a  con 
tinuous  procession. 

Farther  on  we  passed  Sherman's  battery,  and  the  1st 
Ohio,  and  saw  Col.  Schenck,  who  was  busy  repairing,  or 
building,  a  bridge  over  the  main  stream.  In  the  open,  I 
had  a  view  of  part  of  our  men  at  rest  on  the  field.  In  the 
distance,  towards  Manassas,  was  a  dense  cloud  of  dust, 
said  to  be  made  by  the  retreating  foe,  a  glimpse  of  whom, 
with  the  aid  of  my  glass,  showed  them  apparently  with 
drawing.  Everybody  said  the  battle  was  over,  the  rebels 
beaten,  and  our  boys,  officers  and  men,  were  awaiting 
orders  for  the  approaching  end  of  the  day.  It  was 
intensely  hot ;  the  men  suffering  from  heat  and  thirst.  I 
saw  more  than  one  soldier  dip  up  the  muddy  yellow 
water,  standing  in  sinks  in  the  road,  and  drink  it. 

One  thing  I  did  not  understand — going  out  we  crossed 
the  line  of  fire  of  one  or  two  rebel  guns.  I  supposed  they 
were  ours,  until  a  solid  shot  killed  two  of  a  clump  of  sol 
diers,  and  scattered  the  rest.  It  was  at  an  open  space, 


48  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.        [July  1861 

near  a  dilapidated  fence.  The  slain  were  hastily  drawn 
under  the  shelter  of  the  neighboring  tree  trunks,  where 
they  were  stretched  on  their  backs,  with  their  caps  laid 
over  their  faces.  I  aided  in  this,  and  was  anxious  to 
examine  the  gaping  track  of  the  shot.  A  part  of  the 
neck  and  base  of  the  skull  of  one  was  carried  away,  and  I 
lifted  the  head  by  the  hair  for  my  inspection.1 

On  the  return  we  had  again  to  pass  the  line  of  those 
rebel  guns.  Blake  made  a  detour  to  the  left,  and  had  the 
shelter  of  the  trees.  I  kept  on,  and  found  the  place 
entirely  deserted.  Not  a  blue  coat  in  sight,  nor  had  I 
recently  heard  a  gun.  Very  soon  a  shot  came  tearing 
along,  cutting  among  the  near  trees,  and  I  stopped  to 
study  the  effect  of  a  six-pound  shot  among  the  branches. 
"  It  was  a  pursuit  of  knowledge  under  difficulties,"  as  in 
the  case  of  the  younger  Mr.  Weller,  for  directly  another 
was  heard  approaching,  which  seemed  likely  to  strike  at 
about  my  knees.  It  did  in  height,  but  about  four  feet  in 
front  spatting  into  the  side  of  a  cradle  knoll.  Where  or 
behind  what  the  guns  were  stationed,  I  never  knew.  A 
few  strides  forward  brought  me  behind  a  protecting  angle 
of  woods. 

Going  on,  I  saw  Sherman's  guns  limbered  up,  and 
headed  toward  Centreville.  There  I  found  Blake,  and  we 
hurried  back  to  our  carriage.  Brown  was  there.  Morris 
was  absent.  As  we  were  about  to  leave  the  carriage  on 

1  The  most  curious  thing  to  me  was  the  revelation  of  what  I  then  feared 
was  the  basis  of  my  real  nature.  The  sight  of  the  wounded  had  stimulated 
me,  and  at  the  hospital  nothing  could  keep  me  from  pushing  forward,  two 
of  my  companions  reluctantly  following  me.  We  were  soon  on  the  ground 
of  the  opening  skirmish  and  morning  fight,  near  that  part  of  the  broken  and 
wide  extended  field  where  the  slaying  of  these  boys  in  blue  had  occurred. 
I  was  seized  with  a  perfectly  brutish  desire  to  kill,  shed  blood,  destroy.  I 
looked  about  for  the  enemy,  for  a  rifle,  missed  my  navy  revolver,  would 
gladly  have  plunged  into  a  fight  with  my  Remingtons.  Somewhere  in 
the  ascending  line,  some  one  of  the  old  clan  of  Riddle  had  been  an  awful 
savage— he  or  an  old  Welsh  Merrick.  The  feeling  did  not  entirely  subside 
until  I  escaped  the  signs  of  the  struggle. 


July  1861]  BULL  RUN.  49 

our  excursion  to  the  field,  he  suddenly  developed  a  quart 
whiskey  bottle.1  Morris  was  now  missing,  time  was 
lapsing, — our  horses,  rested  and  refreshed,  were  as  im 
patient  to  be  off  as  we  were.  I  went  through  the  hospital, 
and  studied  the  strange  and  increasing  crowd  outside. 
Some  hundreds  of  straggling  soldiers,  many  subaltern 
officers,  and  citizens.  I  saw  none  of  the  other  members 
of  Congress,  nor  had  I  met  any  of  Wade's  party  at  that 
time. 

Finally  Morris,  somewhat  refreshed,  returned,  and  we 
took  our  places  in  the  carriage  and  moved  slowly  through 
the  crowd  toward  Centreville.  The  soldiers  were  without 
order  or  officers,  drifting  towards  Centreville.  I  heard  it 
said  that  the  soldiers  in  the  woods  had  been  ordered  back, 
and  I  had  seen  the  guns  turned  that  way,  and  did  not  at 
all  apprehend  the  reason  for  these  movements.  These 
were  preparatory  to  a  retreat. 

My  seat  in  the  carriage  was  the  right-hand  front,  which 
gave  me  a  clear  outlook  southwardly  and  back.  Moving 
slowly,  we  were  opposite  the  hospital,  when  with  my  eyes 
southward — over  a  wide,  cleared  field  running  westward 
behind  the  woods,  through  which  the  pike  ran,  toward  the 
battle-field — I  was  surprised  at  seeing  a  small  body  of 
cavalry  turn  the  angle  of  the  wood,  and  head  toward  us 
at  full  speed.  Of  course  I  supposed  they  were  our  men, 
or  why  were  they  there?  but  why  were  they  in  such  a 
hurry  ?  The  whole  army  as  I  thought  was  between  them 
and  the  enemy.  The  straggling  soldiers  saw  them,  and  a 
dozen  of  them  ran  to  the  fence  with  their  weapons  in 
position  to  fire.  I  sprang  out  with  my  heavy  navy — 
called  to  my  fellows:  "These  are  Rebs  !  jump  out  and 
be  ready  for  them."  I  think  one  or  two  followed,  and  I 
directed  the  coachman  to  take  the  carriage  below. 

1  Five  quarts  to  the  gallon ,  as  Frank  Blair  afterwards  described  the  pat 
tern.     Morris  tendered  it  to  us,  teetotalers  though  we  were.     I  noticed  that 
as  we  went  on  the  whiskey  went  off. 
4 


50  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.        [July  1861 

There  was  a  stout  Virginia  fence  between  us  and  the 
approaching  horse.  They  came  down  within  fifty  or  sixty 
yards,  saw  that  we  were  safe  from  a  charge,  deployed 
into  line  in  open  order,  giving  them  space,  presented  their 
carbines,  and  fired  into  our  crowd.  I  had  been  under  the 
roar  of  field-pieces,  and  to  me  this  was  but  the  popping  of 
a  row  of  rifle-caps.  It  was  by  this  volley  that  young 
David  McCook,  a  private  and  a  hospital  guard,  was 
killed.  I  did  not  think  of  any  one  being  hurt  by  such  an 
attack.  Our  boys  at  the  fence  returned  the  fire.  The 
range  was  short,  and  as  the  Rebs  whirled  and  dashed 
away,  as  they  instantly  did,  two  or  three  horses  ran  rider 
less  by.  All  the  tales  of  a  headlong  charge,  through  and 
over  our  throngs,  are  baseless  tales.  I  apprehended  a 
nearer  approach  and  held  my  fire. 

Just  as  the  enemy  turned  and  were  fleeing,  I  heard  the 
cry  "  The  Black  horse  !  The  Black  horse  !  "—the  first  I  ever 
heard  of  the  Ashbys — which  were  to  become  famous 
cavalry.  The  effect  of  this  cry  must  be  given  in  the 
words  of  my  letter,  as  quoted  by  Mr.  Cox  in  the  work 
named.1 

"  It  seemed,"  said  Mr.  Riddle,  "  as  if  the  very  devil  of  panic  and  coward 
ice  seized  every  mortal  soldier,  officer,  citizen,  and  teamster.  No  officer 
tried  to  rally  the  soldiers  or  do  anything  except  to  spring  and  run  toward 
Centreville.  There  never  was  anything  like  it  for  a  causeless,  sheer,  abso 
lute,  absurd  panic  on  this  miserable  earth  before.  Off  they  went,  one  and 
all,  off  down  the  highway,  over  across  the  fields  towards  the  woods,  any 
where,  everywhere,  to  escape.  The  farther  they  ran  the  more  frightened 
they  grew,  and  though  we  moved  as  rapidly  as  we  could,  the  fugitives  passed 
us  in  scores.  To  enable  them  the  better  to  run,  they  threw  away  their 
blankets,  knapsacks,  canteens,  and  finally  muskets,  cartridge-boxes,  and 
everything  else.  We  called  to  them,  tried  to  tell  them  there  was  no  danger, 
called  them  to  stop,  implored  them  to  stand.  We  called  them  cowards, 
denounced  them  in  most  offensive  terms,  put  out  our  heavy  revolvers,  and 
threatened  to  shoot  them,  but  all  in  vain.  A  cruel,  crazy,  mad,  helpless 
panic  possessed  them,  and  was  communicated  to  everybody  about,  in  front 
and  rear.  The  heat  was  awful,  although  now  about  six  ;  the  men  were  ex- 

1  P.  158. 


July  1861]  BULL  RUN.  51 

hausted,  their  mouths  gaped,  their  lips  cracked  and  blackened  with  the 
powder  of  the  cartridges  bitten  off  in  battle,  their  eyes  starting  in  frenzy, — 
no  mortal  ever  saw  such  a  mass  of  ghastly  wretches.  As  we  came  on,  borne 
along  with  the  mass,  unable  to  go  ahead  or  pause,  or  draw  out  of  it,  with 
the  street  blocked  with  flying  wagons,  before  and  behind,  thundering  and 
crashing  on,  we  were  every  moment  exposed  to  the  imminent  danger  of  being 
upset,  or  crushed,  or  breaking  down  ;  and  for  the  first  time  on  this  strange 
day  I  felt  a  little  sinking  of  the  heart,  and  doubted  whether  we  could  avoid 
destruction  in  the  immense  throng  about  us,  and  nothing  but  the  skill  of  our 
driver  and  the  strength  of  our  carriage  and  endurance  of  our  horses  saved 
us.  Another  source  of  peril  beset  us.  As  we  passed,  the  poor,  demented, 
exhausted  wretches,  who  could  not  climb  into  the  high,  close  baggage- 
wagons,  made  frantic  efforts  to  get  onto  and  into  our  carriage.  They 
grasped  everywhere,  and  got  onto  it,  into  it,  over  it,  and  implored  us  in 
every  way  to  take  them  on. 

"  No  more  graphic  picture  has  been  presented  of  the  race  of  this  army 
from  an  imaginary  pursuit.  The  pencil  of  David  could  not  do  it  justice. 
No  colors  can  be  harmonized  for  such  a  chaos.  De  Quincey's  Flight  of  a 
Tartar  Tribe  is  far  less  vivacious  and  not  more  thrilling." 

I  quote  from  the  manuscript  letter  itself : 

"  At  first  they  loaded  us  down  to  a  stand-still.  We  had  to  be  rough  with 
them  and  thrust  them  out  and  off,  and  Brown  and  I  guarded  the  doors  with 
pistols.  One  poor  devil  did  get  in,  and  we  lugged  the  pitiful  coward  a  mile 
or  two.  He  wore  major's  straps,  was  hatless,  and  had  thrown  away  his 
sword  ;  finally  I  opened  the  door,  and  he  tumbled — or  was  tumbled  out." 

At  the  awful  jam  at  "  Cub  Run,"  where  the  gorge  held 
us  for  a  time,  I  saw  a  poor  drummer  boy  struggling  under 
the  horses'  feet,  whom  I  rescued  with  much  difficulty,  and 
placed  on  our  carriage.  So  I  took  up  an  exhausted  New 
York  soldier,  hatless,  coatless,  shoeless,  and  to  whom, 
when  he  became  a  little  composed  and  his  maddening 
thirst  relieved  with  water  from  a  spring  rivulet,  I  turned 
over  our  untouched  hamper.  I  left  him  and  the  boy  at 
Centreville. 

There  was  a  pause  at  Centreville  where  Miles's  men  still 
stood  waiting,  but  they  did  not  cut  off  the  frightful  stam 
pede.  Instead,  I  saw  a  herd  of  beeves  turned  into  the 
pike  and  headed  toward  Washington, — the  property  of  a 
contractor,  as  I  learned  later. 


$2  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.        [July  1861 

Passing  Centreville,  the  wreckage  and  spoil  of  flight 
increased.  Axes,  picks,  shovels,  muskets,  with  cartridge- 
boxes,  boxes  of  crackers,  fixed  ammunition,  etc.,  were 
strewn  all  the  way. 

Wade's  carriage  had  passed  us  at  a  choke-up  before 
we  reached  Centreville.  We  passed  them  at  that  place, 
and  they  passed  us  again  where  I  had  gotten  out  to 
gather  up  some  desirable  new  Springfield  rifles.  I  made 
a  collection  of  rifles,  sword-bayonets,  etc.,  much  to  the 
chagrin  of  my  companions,  who  however  submitted  to 
my  whim,  as  Brown  called  it.  Senator  Wilson  in  a  sulky 
passed  me,  driving  as  rapidly  as  he  could,  and  called  to 
me  a  little  peremptorily  to  "  hurry  on."  I  called  back 
that  "  if  I  were  as  much  in  a  hurry  as  you  seem  to  be,  I 
would."  When  Wade  passed  us  the  second  time,  I 
directed  our  coachman  to  keep  close  to  his  carriage ; 
his  horses  were  not  the  equals  of  ours,  and  this  was 
easy,  and  all  the  time  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the 
fleeing  throngs  increased  in  numbers,  and  kept  at  such 
speed  as  their  endurance  and  mode  of  travel  permitted. 

About  a  mile  the  other  side  (from  Washington)  of 
Fairfax  Court-House,  at  the  foot  of  a  long  down-grade, 
the  pike  on  the  northerly  side  was  fenced  and  ran  along  a 
farm.  On  the  other  side,  for  a  considerable  distance,  was 
a  wood  utterly  impenetrable  for  men,  or  animals  larger 
than  cats  and  squirrels.  The  spell  of  changing  day  to 
night  was  already  being  wrought  in  the  wood,  and  its 
shadow  was  perceptible  in  the  open  lands,  when  the  Wade 
carriage  drew  out,  and  up  to  the  fence.  Immediately  the 
old  Senator,  his  hat  well  back,  sprang  out  with  his  rifle 
(which  he  carried  to  Washington  when  he  entered  the 
Senate,  and  with  which  he  would  have  enforced  his  com 
pact  with  Cameron  and  Chandler).  He  was  followed  by 
Chandler,  Brown,  and  Eaton,  all  armed,  and  Chandler 
seemingly  in  a  dangerous  mood.  I  sprang  out  with  my 
heavy  navy  revolver,  followed  by  Blake  and  Brown  and 


July  1861]  BULL   RUN.  53 

Morris.  Morris  had  expended  his  magazine  at  Bull 
Run,  and  he  now  prudently  passed  out  the  other  side,  and 
continued  his  advance  on  Washington.  Ranging  across 
the  pike,  "  with  loud  cries  we  confronted  the  on-sweeping 
multitude,  filling  the  broad  road,  and  for  a  half  mile  up 
to  the  summit,  and  with  our  weapons  we  commanded  an 
immediate  halt  then  and  there,  on  pain  of  instant  loss  of 
brains,  which  none  of  them  would  miss." 

Many  on  horseback  attempted  to  pass.  Their  horses' 
bits  were  seized,  and  they  yielded.  McDowell's  bearer 
of  dispatches,  which  he  showed,  was  passed.  So  the 
Commissary  of  the  2d  Wisconsin,  Colonel  Peck,  looking 
for  baggage.  Alas !  the  2d  Wisconsin  soon  had  to  look 
for  its  young  and  dashing  Colonel,  who  left  West  Point 
in  his  junior  year — appointed  at  my  request  by  my  pre 
decessor,  Edward  Wade. 

"  All  the  rest  we  stopped  ;  some  presented  weapons.  One,  a  teamster, 
mounted  on  a  harnessed  horse,  cut  from  an  army  wagon,  threatened  Eaton 
— who  had  his  horse  by  the  bit — with  a  small  pistol.  There  was  the  report 
of  a  revolver.  Eaton  was  shot  through  the  left  wrist.  The  horse,  liberated, 
dashed  on." 

As  the  multitude,  thus  dammed  up,  swelled  and  raged, 
the  pressure  upon  us  became  very  great.  Loud  cries  and 
threats  reached  us  in  the  deepening  twilight.  Nothing 
shows  more  strongly  the  utter  demoralization  of  the  panic- 
infected  crowd,  than  that  a  thousand  of  them  should  per 
mit  themselves  to  be  held  up  by  seven  men,  no  one  of 
whom  had  a  badge  of  office. 

Just  when  we  were  perhaps  about  to  be  overborne, 
Colonel  Crane,  with  a  part  of  the  2d  New  York,  stationed 
at  Fairfax  Court-House,  hearing  of  the  loss  of  the  battle, 
with  the  instincts  of  a  soldier,  turned  out  his  men  and 
on  the  double-quick  came  to  our  rescue,  and  took  the 
tumultuous  mass  of  fugitives  off  our  hands. 

His  surgeon  hastily  dressed  Eaton's  wound  (the  bullet 


54  RECOLLECTIONS  OF   WAR    TIMES.        [July  1861 

had  passed  between  the  bones),  and  we  were  soon  on  our 
journey,  wiser  if  less  sad  men.  This  episode  of  our  stand, 
even  at  that  stirring  time,  was  much  talked  of,  and  had 
its  small  hour  of  fame. 

We  paused  at  Fairfax  Court-House,  and  an  officer, 
whose  eye  caught  the  sparkle  of  my  armament,  asked 
what  I  intended  to  do  with  the  rifles.  "  Carry  them  on 
till  I  find  an  officer  with  brains  and  spirit  to  see  them  put 
to  the  use  for  which  they  were  intended,"  I  replied.  I 
had  seen  so  many  shoulder-straps  and  buttons  without 
head  or  stomach  that  day,  that  my  curt  answer  may  be 
excused.  "  I  am  Major  [or  Captain,  I  don't  remember 
now]  of  the  New  York  2d,  left  in  command  here.  I  will 
undertake  to  execute  your  wish,"  he  responded  courte 
ously.  I  at  once  delivered  to  him  nine  rifles,  as  many  or 
more  bayonets,  cartridge-boxes,  etc. 

We  had  taken  up  Cowan  of  Ohio  (in  the  Treasury  De 
partment)  at  the  hospital,  whom  we  exchanged  for  Eaton 
(our  carriage  was  easier  and  roomier),  and  went  on. 

What  a  weird,  uncanny  ride  was  that,  in  the  warm 
July  night,  under  the  everlasting  stars,  for  an  imaginative 
man,  with  the  strange  experiences  of  the  day ! 

When  we  went  out  in  the  morning  no  one  challenged 
us  at  the  block-houses,  earthworks,  and  rifle-pits  on  the 
Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac.  This  morning  I  showed 
General  Scott's  pass,  and  an  orderly  was  despatched  to 
name  the  party  thus  designated  on  through  the  works. 


CHAPTER    IX. 
AFTER   THE  BATTLE. 

JULY-AUGUST,    l86l. 
The  Battle  not  a  Defeat,  but  a  Draw — Disorder  in  the  City. 

I  REACHED  my  boarding-house  about  two  in  the  morn 
ing.  I  had  not  tasted  food  since  breakfast  on  the  way 
out,  and  was  still  keyed  too  high  for  sleep  or  for  much 
repose. 

Upon  going  abroad  the  next  morning,  I  found  the  town 
full  of  the  wildest  rumors  and  of  the  wildest-looking 
stragglers  in  blue  blouses.  Clearly  the  whole  army  had 
returned,  and  the  slight  discipline  of  a  few  weeks  of  mili 
tary  forms  had  utterly  disappeared,  under  officers  often 
of  their  own  choosing. 

In  my  Biography  of  Senator  Wade,  in  a  note  (p.  292),  is 
my  deliberate  estimate  of  the  battle  as  between  the 
belligerents. 

"  Mr.  Wade  at  Bull  Run.  Never  was  a  battle  so  really  and  persistently 
misapprehended.  We  ran  away,  and  so  were  defeated.  We  were  not 
beaten  on  the  field.  At  the  most  it  was  a  draw.  We  made  the  assault, 
and,  as  raw  troops  might,  got  weary,  and  went  off  the  field,  leaving  a  part 
of  the  amazed  foe  there.  They  never  pursued  us  an  inch.  Governor 
Sprague  went  and  brought  back  his  guns  (left  at  Cub  Run)  the  next  day.  A 
party  brought  off  the  body  of  Colonel  Cameron  (Colonel  of  the  73d  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  brother  to  Secretary  Cameron)  the  second  day  after  the  battle. 
No  rebels  but  dead  ones  were  met  with." 


56  RECOLLECTIONS  OF   WAR    TIMES.      [July  1861- 

At  10  A.M.  I  went  to  my  desk  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  and  wrote  my  letter  to  Mrs.  Riddle,  quoted 
above,  with  the  warmth  and  excitement  of  the  day  be 
fore  still  upon  me.  I  ran  it  over  hastily,  and  added  a 
word  of  caution.  It  was  not  to  be  published,  and  was  to 
be  shown  only  to  a  few  of  the  most  trusted.  Mrs.  Riddle 
gave  it  to  her  brother-in-law  Bruce,  to  be  shown  to  Cowles- 
of  the  Leader  and  post-office.  It  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  managing  editor  of  the  Leader.  His  attention  was 
called  to  the  inhibition  of  publication.  When  was  an 
editor  ever  guided  by  any  considerations  except  those  of 
"  copy."  I  have  it  with  his  marks.  All  the  most  striking 
parts  were  retained.  All  that  would  explain  the  actual 
conditions,  justify,  or  excuse,  were  marked  out.  I  was 
thunderstruck  on  receiving  the  Leader  containing  it.  I 
was  enraged,  appalled,  by  the  Herald  following  with  it. 
The  journal  for  which  I  deliberately  risked  myself,  with 
out  the  expectation  of  reward,  delivered  me  bound  into 
the  hands  of  my  one  malignant  enemy.  Benedict  had 
persistently  assailed  me  from  the  day  of  his  failure  to 
secure  the  Post-Office.  To  none  of  them  would  I  reply 
or  permit  others  to.  Unrestrained  by  considerations  of 
truth  or  justice,  and  limited  in  the  use  of  means  only  by 
the  power  of  his  invention  and  that  of  his  aids,  he  saw  his 
opportunity.  These  panic-stricken  runaways  were,  accord 
ing  to  the  Herald,  the  remnant  of  a  routed,  annihilated 
army,  destroyed  on  the  field,  with  the  victorious  foe 
thundering  after  them.  We  were  a  cowardly  gang  of 
lordly  Congressmen,  with  our  fleet,  strong  horses  driving 
through  and  over  them,  overcome  as  they  were  by  the 
heat,  the  toils  of  battle,  and  the  rage  of  thirst.  The 
cowardly  major  was  wounded,  bleeding  and  fainting,  and 
thrown  from  my  carriage  into  the  stony  road,  to  perish 
under  the  wheels  of  the  fleeing  army  wagons — and  so 
were  the  spent  and  exhausted  soldiers.  Nobody  now — 
nobody  then — in  the  towns  and  villages  of  the  district 


Aug.  1861]  AFTER    THE  BATTLE.  57 

flooded  over  with  huge  editions  of  the  Herald,  can  ap 
preciate  its  instantaneous  effect.  A  writer  in  the  Cincin 
nati  Commercial,  from  Cleveland,  describes  it  in  these 
terms  :  "  Mr.  Riddle  was  esteemed  the  most  fortunate, 
successful,  and  popular  man  produced  in  this  district.  In 
a  day  he  became  the  most  odious." 

I  was  burnt  and  hanged  in  effigy  in  more  than  one  en 
raged  town.  In  one  an  effigy  obstinately  refused  to  burn 
and  was  promptly  and  properly  weighted  and  cast  into  a 
mill-pond.  The  Herald,  with  marginal  notes,  was  showered 
upon  me  by  scores,  and  every  mail  came  freighted  with 
coarse,  vulgar,  and  obscene  letters,  some  with  the  writers' 
names.  Most  of  my  friends  were  overwhelmed,  and  in 
Cleveland  made  no  effort  to  stem  the  tide.  A  few 
strong,  indignant  men,  came  out  for  battle,  and  wrote 
me  indignant  letters.  I  insert  one,  written  evidently  at  a 
white  heat,  from  Arthur  H.  Thrasher  of  Chardon,  Geauga 
County,  a  widely  known  lawyer  and  a  man  of  decided 
character. 

"  CHARDON,  Aug.  i,  1861. 
"  DEAR  RIDDLE: 

"  I  am  moved  at  this  moment  to  write  you  from  reading  the  third  con 
temptible,  malignant,  and  outrageous  article  in  the  Cleveland  Herald  upon 
you,  or  rather  professing  to  be  upon  your  letter.  The  last  is  done  up  in 
doggerel.  It  is  so  outrageous  that  your  friends  here  can  scarcely  restrain 
their  desire  to  go  to  Cleveland  and  shoot  Benedict  like  a  dog,  as  he  is.  He 
is  a  miserable,  malignant  dog  !  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  what  course  ought 
to  be  taken  with  the  scoundrel — whether  you  ought  to  prosecute  him  for 
libel  (and  this  last  as  well  as  the  others  are  unquestionably  libellous),  or 
whether  we  ought  to  call  a  meeting  here  and  pass  resolutions  that  we  will 
no  longer  take  his  libellous  sheet.  We  are  outraged  and  insulted  every 
time  we  open  it  of  late.  Such  a  scoundrel  ought  to  be  ejected  from  society. 
If  he  is  such  a  miserable  fool  as  to  suppose  that  he  is  going  to  make  any 
capital  against  you  among  your  old  friends,  by  his  fiendish  efforts  to  garble 
your  letter,  he  is  past  hope  even.  .  .  . 

"  Yours  truly, 

"A.  H.  THRASHER." 

From  several  Cleveland  friends  came  appeals  to  remain 
away  during  vacation,  and  if  I  did  come  home  to  get  off 


58  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [July  1861- 

the  cars  at  the  upper  (Euclid)  station.  It  would  not  do 
to  brave  the  city.  There  was  a  general  demand  that  I 
should  write  an  explanatory,  excusatory  address.  With 
this  I  reluctantly  complied.  The  yellow  thing  from  the 
Daily  Leader  is  before  me.  My  reader  has  already  had 
too  much  of  these  personal  recollections  to  be  offered 
these  three  columns.  It  amuses  me  now  to  see  how  I 
reiterated  the  points  of  the  letter,  now  drawn  with  a  more 
distinct  background.  A  paragraph  or  two  may  be  offered 
here,  to  show  the  temper  with  which,  at  the  time,  I 
handled  this  personal  matter. 


"  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

"  WASHINGTON,  Aug.  5,  1861. 

"  A  period  which  demands  the  exercise  of  a  patriotism  so  unanimous  and 
heroic  that  no  evil  passion  can  find  voice,  save  a  malignity  that  never  sleeps, 
is  not  one  in  which  an  humble  individual  should  seek  to  distract  the  public 
attention  to  his  private  affairs,  but  the  course  of  the  Cleveland  Herald,  in  the 
estimation  of  friends,  requires  that  even  now  I  should  throw  myself  so  far 
upon  the  public  indulgence  as  to  ask  its  attention  to  the  statement  I  am 
about  to  submit. 

"  That  course  has  its  origin  in  no  political  act  or  sentiment  of  mine,  nor 
in  any  private  hostility  on  my  part  towards  that  journal  nor  towards  any  of 
its  conductors,  nor  on  account  of  any  discourtesy  of  mine,  but  solely  for  the 
satisfactory  reason  that  I  preferred  that  another  Republican  journal  should 
receive  the  patronage  of  the  Cleveland  Post-Office.  Other  than  this,  the 
Hcrald\i&s>  no  cause  of  enmity  to  me.  It  will  hardly  claim  that  I  was  under 
obligations  or  pledges  to  it  of  any  kind.  To  the  daily  attacks  of  that  paper 
during  the  spring  I  made  no  reply,  though  I  was  urged  to  do  so.  I  was  de 
termined  that  the  Republican  party  should  be  distracted  by  no  quarrel  of 
mine.  And  were  I  to  consult  my  own  inclinations,  I  should  remain  silent 
even  now,  trusting  that  the  world  would  some  time,  in  the  progress  of  the 
war,  discover  the  difference  between  the  heroic  soldier  who  remains  on  the 
field  and  him  who,  in  advance  of  defeat,  abandons  it  without  cause  ;  and 
that  it  may  not  be  the  best  incentive  to  heroic  deeds  to  confound  one  with 
the  other, 

"  I  am  now  charged  in  that  journal,  not  only  with  a  want  of  spirit  and 
firmness  in  danger,  to  which  I  offer  no  reply,  but  with  brutal  inhumanity  to 
distressed  soldiers,  under  circumstances  that  deserve  the  scorn  and  execra 
tion  of  the  world.  The  proof  of  this  obliquity,  I  am  glad  to  find,  exists  only 
in  the  contents  of  a  letter  of  my  own,  a  letter  which  hastily  recounts  my  per- 


Aug.  1861]  AFTER    THE  BATTLE.  59 

sonal  observations  and  experiences  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  '  Battle  of 
July  2 ist.'  I  shall  give  so  much  of  what  I  saw  as  bears  on  these  charges,  only 
for  the  purpose  of  disclosing  the  facts  with  which  I  dealt,  the  circumstances 
under  which  I  wrote,  as  also  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed." 

No  graphic  pen  has  ever  described  the  scenes  enacted 
in  the  Capital  during  the  three  weeks  following  the  return 
of  that  part  of  the  army  after  its  flight  from  Centreville. 

In  the  main,  those  who  on  the  field  had  tasted  the  red 
banquet  were  quiet  and  orderly.  It  was  the  stragglers, 
runners,  and  bummers  who  stole  out  of  the  ranks,  the 
small  detachments  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  field,  and 
along  the  pike,  among  whom  the  fatal  contagion  of  panic 
had  spread  like  a  death-breathing  pestilence,  who  were 
the  most  lawless.  These,  in  herds  and  flocks,  wandered 
about  the  streets  and  lower  places  of  resort.  Washington 
then  had  a  licensed  bar  for  about  every  seventy-five  of 
the  fixed  population,  and  a  large  number  of  unlicensed 
drinking  places.  Its  police  was  slight  and  wholly  unequal 
to  the  exigency.  For  the  most  part,  the  first  rush  of 
volunteers  was  from  the  intelligent,  orderly  class  of  young 
men.  Yet  all  know  the  effect  upon  men  of  the  absence 
of  home  and  neighborhood  influences,  abandoned  to  them 
selves,  and  to  the  named  and  nameless  allurements  of  a 
Capital  such  as  Washington  then  was. 

For  the  most  part  the  crowds  were  good-natured — 
though  not  always.  One  day,  at  about  4  P.M.,  as  I 
went  from  the  Capitol  up  the  avenue,  I  witnessed  the 
following :  At  that  time  much  of  the  space  below  Third 
Street,  along  the  Tiber  to  the  Capitol  grounds,  was  vacant, 
and  here  and  extending  into  and  over  the  avenue,  was  a 
compact  crowd  of  2500  or  3000  young  men,  all  wearing 
the  shapeless  thing  of  blue  flannel,  with  the  inevitable 
three  army  buttons — the  dread  and  derision  of  the  young 
handsome  volunteers  alike  from  town  and  country.  It 
required  very  acute  patriotism  and  the  prevalence  of 
example  to  make  the  wearers  feel  comfortable.  In  the 


60  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.    [July-Aug.  1861 

centre  of  the  crowd  a  fight  was  going  on,  not  according 
to  the  eminent  Christian  of  Queensbury,  and  there 
seemed  to  be  more  than  one  engaged.  Occasionally,  sev 
eral  who  seemed  to  be  regulators,  or  assistants,  took  part 
to  keep  the  contest  balanced.  I  had  learned  that  a  troop 
of  the  regular  cavalry  had  just  taken  possession  of  extem 
porized  stables  and  barracks  on  the  square  opposite  the 
Rugby,  and  running  up  to  some  of  those  on  the  outer 
edge  of  the  crowd,  I  said  that  orders  had  just  been  sent 
to  the  3d  Cavalry  to  come  down  and  charge  the  crowd. 
My  manner  was  evidently  impressive,  for  instantly  the 
mass  began  to  disintegrate  and  disperse.  I  was  told  that 
there  was  a  bet  on  the  principals,  which  I  doubtless  caused 
to  be  declared  off. 

Some  lively  incidents  arose  under  the  cavalry  in  the 
ensuing  days  before  the  advent  of  McClellan.  I  witnessed 
an  episode  one  morning  south  of  the  avenue  between 
Seventh  and  Ninth  Streets.  This  space,  with  the  huts 
and  old  shanties  of  the  old  market,  was  very  unlovely, 
having  a  fringe  of  solitary  mean  wooden  buildings  along 
the  canal,  occupied  by  meaner  people  devoted  to  the 
meanest  callings  known.  Some  trouble  had  arisen  at  one 
of  these  ulcers.  A  soldier  had  been  wronged  ;  in  revenge, 
a  half  dozen  others  raided  the  place  one  forenoon  ;  a  small 
squad  of  the  cavalry  came  to  the  rescue ;  one  soldier  got 
out  and  fled  ;  a  cavalryman  gave  chase.  As  the  horse  at 
a  rapid  gait  came  up  with  the  fugitive,  he  deviated  to  the 
left  without  checking  his  speed,  the  soldier  bent  a  little, 
threw  his  right  hand  upon  the  truant's  collar  and  neck, 
lifted  him  from  the  ground,  and  with  a  mighty  swing  laid 
him  on  his  horse's  withers,  and  bore  him  off.  I  had  a  new 
conception  of  what  amounted  athletic  man,  whose  trained 
horse  worked  instinctively  to  his  will,  could  accomplish. 


CHAPTER  X. 
MARYLAND'S  EFFORTS  TO  SECEDE. 

APRIL-AUGUST,  1 86 1. 

Retrospective — Maryland's   Efforts   to  Secede — Effect    on   the  District  of 
Columbia — The  State  Saved. 

IT  may  be  forgotten  what  persistent  and  nearly  success 
ful  efforts  were  made  to  carry  Maryland  out  of  the  Union 
with  her  sister  border  States.  I  first  came  to  understand 
the  case  during  this  extra  session.  Her  slave  property 
was  estimated  at  $50,000,000.  Through  her  lay  the 
northern  road  to  the  Capital ;  she  held  the  thoroughfare 
between  the  north  and  south,  and  her  geographical  posi 
tion  saved  her  as  it  did  Kentucky. 

Mr.  A.  H.  Handy,  the  State  Commissioner  of  Missis 
sippi,  visited  Maryland  early  in  December,  1860.  His 
presence  was  a  danger ;  he  came  to  induce  the  State  to 
secede.  His  address  to  brave  old  Governor  Hicks  was 
insidious,  the  Governor  in  reply  expressing  strong  sym 
pathy  with  Mississippi,  and  enjoining  prudence  as  well. 

A  legal  secession,  according  to  Southern  constitutional 
law,  must  originate  with  a  State  legislature,  Maryland's 
consisting  of  twenty-two  Senators  and  seventy-two  dele 
gates.  Twelve  of  the  twenty-two  Senators  petitioned  the 
Governor  to  convene  an  extra  session  ;  this  meant  seces 
sion.  The  going  out  of  Maryland  would  take  the  District 
of  Columbia,  the  Capital  becoming  the  seat  of  the  Con 
federate  government,  with  all  the  prestige  which  it  would 

61 


62  RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR   TIMES.         [April  1861 

thus  gain  in  Europe.  The  Confederacy,  as  would  seem 
to  Europe,  had  supplanted  the  United  States,  and  suc 
ceeded  to  its  rights  and  immunities.  A  convention  was 
held  informally  in  Baltimore  on  the  i8th  and  iQth  of  Feb 
ruary,  which  resolved  to  wait  the  result  of  the  Peace  Con 
vention  and  action  of  Congress.  It  adjourned  to  March 
1 2th — unless  meantime  Virginia  seceded,  in  which  case  the 
convention  should  reassemble.  Should  Governor  Hicks 
decline  to  call  a  "  Sovereign  "  convention  before  March 
I2th,  then  the  suspending  body  would  recommend  such  a 
convention  at  once.  When  it  did  meet,  the  Republican 
administration  was  seated  in  Washington,  and  the  in 
augural  was  working  its  charm.  A  border  State  convention 
was  discussed,  and  a  resolution  against  the  repossession 
of  federal  property  in  the  seceded  States — which  would  be 
acts  of  war  by  the  United  States  and  would  absolve 
Maryland  from  the  Union — was  lost. 

Governor  Hicks  wanted  to  gain  time.  The  fall  of 
Sumter  was  met  by  the  President's  proclamation.  A 
special  election  of  Representatives  to  the  House  must 
be  held,  and  that,  he  argued,  would  give  the  people  of 
Maryland  a  chance  to  declare  their  wishes.  He  had  op 
posed  a  reconvention  of  the  Legislature.  The  riot  of  April 
iQth  produced  a  great  excitement,  and  thereupon  the 
Senator  of  the  Baltimore  District  himself  issued  a  call— 
a  proclamation  convening  the  Legislature  at  Baltimore,  the 
hotbed  of  secession  and  bad  blood.  The  stout  Governor 
met  this  with  a  proclamation  to  convene  the  Legislature  at 
Frederick  City,  in  the  midst  of  a  brave  and  loyal  popula 
tion,  on  the  26th  of  April.  He  found  he  could  not  trust 
the  militia,  whose  officers  to  a  man  were  secessionists.  I 
may  not  follow  this  intensely  important  contest  further. 
Governor  Hicks  saved  Maryland,  and  General  Butler  by  a 
stroke  of  strategy  captured  Baltimore,  garrisoned  Fort 
McHenry  and  held  it,  and  thus  overawed  the  rebellious 
city. 


Aug.  1861]     MARYLAND'S  EFFORTS    TO   SECEDE.  63 

I  very  well  remember  General  Butler's  first  visit  to 
Washington  after  this  exploit.  I  had  never  seen  this 
picturesque  specimen  of  nature's  handiwork  on  faces,  and 
had  then  rarely  seen  a  major-general  in  full  dress,  with 
golden  plumes,  epaulets,  and  spurs.  He  came  over  to  see 
the  President  and  Secretary  of  War,  and  walking  alone  up 
the  avenue  to  the  White  House,  he  early  encountered  one 
of  our  general's  videttes,  who  took  him  in  charge  as  a 
general  at  large  without  a  permit.  Butler  appreciated  his 
arrest  both  as  a  fine  bit  of  military  police  and  a  good  joke. 

McClellan's  coming  to  the  Capital  was  like  the  advent 
of  a  beneficent  prince.  We  awoke  one  morning  to  find 
the  streets,  the  city,  serenely  free  of  the  wandering  gangs 
of  brass  and  blue.  They  had  all  disappeared  in  a  night. 
In  his  presence  order  and  quietude  at  once  found  them 
selves  everywhere  established.  As  by  a  potent  magic, 
obedience,  discipline,  neatness,  and  the  air  military  ruled 
the  camps  to  which  the  soldiers  were  confined  ;  the  awk 
ward  citizen  began  to  assume  the  bearing  of  a  soldier, 
preparing  to  take  his  place  in  the  finely  wrought  mech 
anism  of  the  company,  regiment,  brigade,  division,  and 
army  corps.  Never  had  we  a  more  superior  organizer, 
with  the  skill  to  turn  out  the  completed  regiment.  Had 
his  enterprise,  his  dash,  his  e"lan,  and  his  tactics  in  the  field 
equalled  his  art  as  a  constructor  and  artificer  of  soldiers, 
his  genius  would  have  approached  some  of  the  renowned 
commanders  of  history.  Coming  as  he  did  to  the  Presi 
dent's  aid  to  relieve  him  of  the  chaos  of  his  Capital,  no 
wonder  he  won  his  heart  and  confidence.  Simple  and 
modest  then — he  adopted  no  style,  no  full  dress,  plumes 
and  bullion,  no  glittering  staff  and  parade — at  the  first 
not  even  a  shoulder  strap.  We  saw  him  on  the  avenue, 
a  simple  soldier,  without  any  mark  or  insignia — alone, 
hurrying  on,  few  knowing  his  person.  When  he  took  the 
field  without  Rosecrans,  who  made  his  first  fame  in  West 
Virginia,  he  seemed  to  disappear.  He  was  kept  all  winter 


64  RECOLLECTION'S  OF  WAR  TIMES.  [April-Aug.  1861 

before  Manassas  by  twenty-seven  or  thirty  wooden  guns, 
and  would  have  stayed  there  the  next  season  had  not 
L.  C.  Baker  and  his  detectives  tested  by  inspection  the 
rebel  works,  and  reported  the  real  state  of  things  there. 
In  fact  the  Confederates  evacuated  Manassas  for  their 
own  purpose.  So  on  to  the  peninsula  with  his  90,000 
men  and  100  field  pieces,  he  began  to  call  for  more  men, 
and  made  regular  approaches  to  the  brush  fence,  behind 
which  lay  old  Magruder  and  his  7000  rebels. 

The  fate  of  Mr.  Ely  of  the  House  from  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  had  a  depressing  effect  upon  some  of  our  body. 
His  may  have  been  the  case  of  a  cultured  man,  surprised 
by  some  fault  in  his  physical  and  nervous  make-up.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  day  on  the  field  at  Bull  Run,  when 
the  Cleveland  Grays  skirmished  in,  in  front  of  the  1st 
Ohio,  and  had  some  sharp  encounters,  they  found  Ely 
apparently  ill,  and  my  personal  friend,  George  Hoyt,  ren 
dered  him  some  attention  at  a  hut.  The  Grays  changed 
position,  and  instead  of  keeping  with  them,  Ely  remained, 
—the  last  seen  of  him  by  our  men.  When  picked  up  he 
may  have  made  known  his  position  as  a  Member  of  Con 
gress,  and  though  a  non-combatant,  which  should  have 
exempted  him  from  capture,  he  was  carried  as  a  trophy 
to  Richmond,  and  detained  many  months.  This  incident 
created  some  apprehension  among  some  of  our  associates, 
several  of  whom  thought  that  Congress  should  legislate  in 
a  more  secure  place.  The  Capital  might  be  captured  and 
both  Houses  carried  off — especially  as  Maryland  was  still 
regarded  as  shaky. 

Congress  adjourned  August  6th.  It  may  be  said  of  it 
that  no  similar  body  of  our  history  ever  remained  thirty- 
three  days  in  session,  and  in  that  time  enacted  so  many 
and  such  important  statutes  as  did  this;  or  ever  con 
ducted  its  debates  with  such  harmony,  or  passed  its 
measures  with  such  unanimity. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

APPOINTMENT    OF   OHIO    BRIGADIER-GENERALS. 

AUGUST-NOVEMBER,  1 86 1. 

The  President's  Note — Our  Caucus — Contest  over  Morgan — Raising  Soldiers 
—The  4ist  Regiment— Ball's  Bluff. 

THE  members  from  Ohio  received  a  note  from  the 
Executive  asking  us  to  name  five  or  six  citizens  of  our 
State,  whom  we  would  recommend  for  appointment  as 
Brigadier-Generals.  Two  sessions  of  not  more  than  eight 
or  ten  of  us  were  held  about  the  time  of  our  adjourn 
ment,  at  the  first  of  which  Senators  Wade  and  Sherman 
were  present,  as  were  Vallandigham  and  Cox.  We  had  no 
difficulty  in  agreeing  on  McCook,  Sherman,  and  Schenck. 
To  start  with  I  named  Colonel  George  W.  Morgan,  a  lead 
ing  Democrat,  and  the  distinguished  colonel  of  an  Ohio 
regiment  in  the  Mexican  war,  of  West  Point  education, 
and  admitted  military  ability.  He  was  brevetted  for  gal 
lantry  at  Cherubusco  where  he  commanded  the  I5th 
regulars.  I  was  surprised  that  Wade  should  oppose  him 
bitterly,  and  that  Vallandigham  and  Cox  would  not  sup 
port  him.  These  gentlemen  all  seemed  as  much  surprised 
that  I  should  nominate  him.  My  reasons  were  put  forth: 
We  Republicans  were  charged  as  being  the  culpable 
cause  of  the  war ;  we  had,  on  our — the  Union — side,  so  far 
in  Congress,  made  it  purely  a  national,  not  a  Republican, 

65 


66  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [Aug.  186t 

contest ;  justice  to  the  Democrats,  as  well  as  sound  policy, 
demanded  that  they  should  not  be  discriminated  against ; 
no  man  in  the  State  had  a  better  military  reputation  than 
Colonel  Morgan.  It  was  said  he  was  opposed  to  the  war 
and  would  not  accept.  It  seemed  to  me  he  should  have 
a  chance,  and  I  was  sure  he  would  accept  gladly,  and  that 
fact  would  silence  a  great  many  in  middle  and  southern 
Ohio,  and  I  also  thought  that  we  Republicans  should 
show  our  hands  now  at  the  beginning.  We  had  an 
adjournment.  At  the  next  session  Morgan  was  named 
fourth  without  any  debate. 

My  return  home,  as  was  thought,  presaged  personal 
war  against  the  Herald.  Plans  of  a  campaign  had  been 
formed.  I  declared  at  once  that  there  was  no  place  for 
personal  war  in  the  Republican  camp,  and  that  it  should 
not  have  a  thought  of  my  mind  nor  a  minute  of  my  time. 
I  would  cheerfully  act  with  Benedict  in  raising  soldiers 
for  the  new  regiments,  and  in  strengthening  the  Union 
cause. 

A  message  to  call  at  the  Weddell  House  the  day  after 
my  return  and  take  luncheon,  was  awaiting  me  from  Colo 
nel  McCook,  who  commanded  the  1st  Ohio,  and  Captain 
Hampson,  who  led  the  Grays  at  Bull  Run,  both  of  whom 
and  their  commands  I  was  charged  with  libelling.  Of 
course  I  accepted  and  went,  and  the  heart  of  the  city  was 
doubtless  cheered  by  the  sight  of  the  three  on  the  Wed 
dell  House  balcony  and  on  the  street,  as  together  we 
visited  the  office  of  the  Leader  and  the  reading-room  of 
the  Herald. 

Our  first  work  was  raising  the  4 1st  Ohio.  At  the  called 
meetings  addressed  by  me  men  were  a  little  surprised  when 
they  heard,  in  my  discussion  of  the  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
no  allusion  made  to  the  Herald.  When  the  companies 
for  that  regiment  existed  in  skeleton,  I  went  to  Washing 
ton  and  secured  the  appointment  of  William  B.  Hazen, 
U.  S.  A.,  as  Colonel  to  command  it.  In  his  interesting 


Nov.  1861]  OHIO   BRIGADIER-GENERALS.  6? 

book — a  history  of  that  part  of  the  war  in  which  he  was 
personally  engaged — he  says  a  delegation  of  Cleveland 
gentlemen  secured  his  appointment.  He  was  then  per 
sonally  unknown  at  Cleveland.  George  Mygatt,  a 
brother-in-law  of  my  friend  and  competitor,  Backus,  was 
appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  41  st,  and  a  delega 
tion  may  have  gone  there  for  him.  This  appointment,  as 
I  think,  was  also  referred  to  me.  I  never  had  cause  to 
complain  of  Mr.  Cameron.  Bull  Run  and  my  sketch  of 
it,  and  our  stand  beyond  Fairfax,  strengthened  me  at 
Washington  with  all  parties. 

Hazen  was  personally  well  known  to  me,  and  was 
reared  in  my  neighborhood.  He  put  the  boys  of  the  4ist 
under  rigid  rules  from  the  start,  and  they  complained  to 
me  of  his  seventy.  I  told  them  to  wait  till  they  reached 
the  front.  They  went  not  only  well  drilled,  but  changed 
to  very  complete  soldiers,  knowing  how  to  live  and  to 
care  for  themselves.  My  daughter  presented  them  with  a 
flag,  and  in  time  they  marched  away.1  I  also  had  an  order 
to  raise  a  battery  to  be  attached  to  the  4ist,  under  the 
command  of  young  Wetmore,  who,  though  obliged  to 
leave  West  Point — being  rendered  unfit  for  the  army  per 
manently  by  a  fever-sore  as  was  supposed, — was  a  very 
thorough  soldier. 

At  Shiloh  the  4ist  did  good  service  under  Mygatt, 
Hazen  being  in  command  of  a  brigade.  Mygatt  led  it  in 
a  famous  charge  across  an  old  field  grown  up  with  small 
shrubs  and  briars,  every  spear  of  which  was  cut  away  by 
the  fierce  infantry  fire.  How  a  man  lived  to  face  the 
rebels  who  contributed  to  that  mowing,  Heaven  only 
knows ! 

With  these  public  labors  and  some  attention  to  the 
courts,  the  summer  and  early  autumn  lapsed.  Meantime, 

1  The  flag  was  of  large  dimensions,  with  the  national  colors.  It  had  the 
number  of  the  regiment,  and  was  placed  and  left  on  the  State  House  at 
Nashville. 


68  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.  [Aug.-Nov,  1861 

McClellan  had  ere  September,  been  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  Department  at  Washington.  A  month 
later  came  the  unplanned — on  our  side — battle  of  Ball's 
Bluff,  fought  by  our  different  and  detached  bodies  of  sol 
diers  wandering  at  large,  under  no  general,  against  superior 
numbers — four  or  five  thousand — well  commanded.  Out 
of  1700  Union  soldiers  who  participated  in  the  action, 
IOOO  were  killed  and  captured  ;  and,  greatest  loss  of  all, 
the  gallant  Baker  fell,  shot  through  the  brain,  while  lead 
ing  a  charge.  Mention  of  the  disaster,  which  filled  the 
North  with  horror  as  with  sorrow,  must  be  further  made 
as  we  go  on. 

On  the  ist  of  November,  General  Scott  retired,  and 
McClellan  was  made  Commander-in-chief  (this  captain  of 
engineers,  for  years  out  of  service)  over  the  heads  of  the 
old  generals  and  colonels.  For  a  time  he  filled  the 
popular  heart,  and  reigned  the  hero  and  idol. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  PRESIDENT'S   MESSAGE. 

DECEMBER,    1 86 1. 

Effect  of  the  War  on  Congress — The  Armies — The  President's  Message— 
Mr.  Seward — Commissioners  to  Treat  with  the  Rebels — Bill  to  Abolish 
Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

THE  broad  work  of  the  called  session  was  continued  and 
supplemented  by  the  regular  session.  It  originated  and 
matured  many  great  measures,  some  of  which  became  a 
part  of  the  permanent  legislation  of  the  country  in  the 
hands  of  all  parties.  Its  members  became  accustomed  to 
elevated  and  widely  extended  views,  to  the  expenditure 
of  enormous  sums,  to  the  creation  of  multitudinous 
armies,  to  the  daily  widening  of  gigantic  powers  and  to 
having  confidence  in  themselves  as  the  legislators  of  the 
Great  Republic,  equal  to  the  extraordinary  demands  upon 
them,  they  handled  their  creative  and  sustaining  powers 
with  firm  hands.  This  session  was  also  marked  by  the 
antagonism  of  the  Democrats  as  a  party,  to  the  Union 
cause,  as  contended  for  by  the  Republicans.  They  finally 
became  the  active  allies  of  the  Confederacy,  as  we  shall 
see. 

The  two  Houses  assembled  December  2d.  At  that  time 
the  hostile  armies  may,  in  outline,  be  said  to  confront 
each  other  in  numbers  and  positions  nearly  as  follows  : 
General  Wool  had  15,000  men  at  Fort  Monroe.  Passing 

69 


7O  RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR   TIMES.         [Dec.  1861 

up  the  Potomac,  Hooker  was  in  the  front  of  Washington 
with  10,000;  McClellan's  army  numbered  about  160,000 
in  eight  divisions,  of  which  Keyes  and  Casey's  divisions 
were  in  and  about  Washington.  Indeed,  the  large  outside 
vaults  and  store-rooms  of  the  Capitol  were  occupied  by 
them,  and  the  smoke  of  their  quarters  was  often  trouble 
some  in  the  hall  of  the  House.  Counting  with  these, 
those  along  the  railroad  to  Baltimore  and  near  that  city, 
the  total  must  have  been  near  200,000.  This  force  was 
later  called  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Passing  up  the 
river  were  Kelley's  troops  that  later  Lander  led  up  the 
Shenandoah ;  and  Rosecrans  had  20,000  in  West  Vir 
ginia. 

In  Kentucky,  Buell  had  embodied  100,000.  At  St. 
Louis  and  Cairo,  Halleck  was  collecting  and  organizing  a 
force.  In  the  farther  west,  on  the  frontier,  20,000  men 
were  assembled,  with  the  intention  of  marching  from 
Kansas  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  through  New  Mexico. 
On  the  Ohio  and  at  Cairo,  under  Foote,  lay  a  fleet  of 
gunboats. 

Sherman  had  a  force  in  South  Carolina.  Burnside  was 
soon  on  his  way  to  North  Carolina  ;  and  there  were  sev 
eral  regiments  for  his  expedition.  The  whole  has  been 
estimated  at  450,000  or  475,000  men,  an  army  as  numer 
ous  as  that  with  which  Napoleon  approached  the  territory 
of  Russia  in  1812. 

The  Confederates  held  the  most  of  Virginia,  Kentucky, 
and  Missouri.  Their  Virginia  army  consisted  of  30,000, 
at  Yorktown  and  Norfolk,  a  small  force  on  the  James, 
and  the  army  before  Washington,  which  held  a  long  forti 
fied  line.  Its  right  rested  on  the  Potomac  below  Fred- 
ericksburg,  supported  by  batteries  on  the  Potomac.  The 
main  body  was  at  Centreville  and  Manassas.  It  was  sup 
posed  that  both  were  fortified,  as  was  Manassas,  and  the 
force  was  estimated  at  75,000.  The  left  extended  to 
Leesburgh,  with  a  large  force  at  Winchester  and  Martins- 


Dec.  1861]  THE  PRESIDENTS  MESSAGE.  *Jl 

burgh.  These  entire  armies,  estimated  by  McClellan  at 
175,000,  were  commanded  by  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston. 
In  Kentucky  the  rebel  force  was  about  30,000,  with  20,000 
in  Tennessee,  and  smaller  bodies  at  important  points  on 
the  Mississippi.  They  had  under  arms  about  350,000 
men,  standing  on  the  defensive. 

Sometime,  fifty  or  a  hundred  years  hence,  when  some 
broad-browed  student  of  our  history  comes,  in  whose 
brain  the  awful  mass  of  public  documents  and  statistics, 
and  this  endless,  ever-swelling  tide  of  more  or  less  turbid 
memories,  notes,  sketches,  and  autobiographies,  shall  re 
solve  itself  into  translucent  matter,  and  he  takes  up  the 
narrative  at  the  Genesis  of  the  cause  of  this  war,  then  the 
truth  of  what  really  was  will  be  made  to  appear.  Mr. 
Lincoln's  message  to  the  two  Houses,  and  the  accompa 
nying  reports  of  his  Cabinet  Ministers,  will  be  found  in 
this  clear  white  light  to  be  papers  of  pith  and  moment. 

Eight  months  and  a  few  days  had  elapsed  since  the 
Proclamation  summoned  a  little  more  than  one  half  of  the 
nation  to  arms,  against  the  other  half,  then  in  arms,  osten 
sibly  to  reunite  and  preserve  the  whole ;  and  had  sum 
moned  the  nation's  Congress  to  assemble,  consider,  discuss, 
and  resolve  the  new  conditions.  To  me  now,  who  was 
one  of  the  body  addressed,  these  papers  seem  to  have  lost 
none  of  their  significance.  The  firmness  of  tone,  the  un 
conscious  confidence  of  these  nationalists  in  ultimate  suc 
cess  is  inspiriting. 

Mr.  Lincoln  told  us  that  the  Court  of  Claims  needed  a 
grant  of  ampler  powers ;  that  the  huge  mass  of  Congres 
sional  law  needed  codifying,  and  half  a  score  of  similar 
things,  neglected  in  the  lazy  years  of  peace,  ought  to  be 
dealt  with  now,  with  half  of  the  republic  in  arms  to  abro 
gate  and  annihilate  the  whole  by  force,  and  the  demolition 
or  capture  of  the  very  Capital  where  this  Court  of  Claims 
must  sit.  How  we  responded  to  these  suggestions  will 
appear.  For  one,  I  thought  these  things  might  wait. 


72  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [Dec,  1861 

A  curious  thing  appears  in  Postmaster-General  Blair's 
report.  It  would  seem  that  up  to  that  time  the  Depart 
ment  had  done  its  best  to  supply  the  rebels  with  the  pos 
tal  service.  The  number  of  post-offices  in  operation  during 
the  year  was  28,586.  The  number  of  post-offices  that 
made  no  return  for  the  last  quarter  was  8,535.  In  Vir 
ginia  alone  there  were  161  that  continued  their  reports. 
Indeed  there  were  early  in  the  war  complaints  from 
within  the  rebel  lines  of  the  irregularity  of  the  United  States 
mails.  No  circumlocution,  no  euphemism,  will  enable  me 
to  give  Mr.  Lincoln's  "  little  story  "  illustrating  their  com 
plaint  of  the  interruption  of  their  "  mail  facilities." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  on  the  day  after  the  battle 
of  Bull  Run,  the  House,  117  to  2,  dedicated  slavery  to 
everlasting  safety  from  the  war. 

The  first  thing  in  the  House  at  this  December  session 
was  a  joint  resolution  by  Mr.  Stevens  :  "  Whereas  that 
slavery  has  caused  the  present  rebellion"  "  Resolved  that  the 
President  and  Generals  declare  free  all  slaves  escaping 
from  rebel  masters,  but  secure  compensation  to  loyal 
owners" — a  decided  advance  for  a  man  mute  four  months 
before. 

In  the  meantime  grim  and  direct  old  Commodore 
Wilkes  had  taken  Mason  and  Slidell,  the  Confederate 
envoys  to  England, — two  sons  of  America  that  she  could 
best  spare, — from  an  English  ship,  and  brought  them 
home  again.  We  had  not  more  than  got  into  our  seats 
in  the  House,  when  Lovejoy  offered  a  joint  resolution 
which  declared,  "  That  the  thanks  of  Congress  are  due 
and  are  hereby  tendered  to  Captain  Wilkes  for  his  brave, 
adroit,  and  patriotic  conduct,  in  the  arrest  and  detention 
of  the  traitors,  James  M.  Mason  and  John  Slidell,"  and 
we  passed  it  with  a  shout  of,  "  yeas,"  heard  across  the 
Atlantic,  and  adding  much  to  the  complicating  and  com 
promising  position  the  exploit  placed  us  in.  Mr.  Seward 
saved  us.  His  position  was  the  most  difficult  and  least 
appreciated  of  any  of  the  three  Secretaries.  He  grace- 


Dec.  18611  THE  PRESIDENTS  MESSAGE.  J$ 

fully  apologized  to  Her  Majesty,  and  we  rewarded  the 
old  South  Sea  explorer  in  true  British  fashion  by  making 
him  an  Admiral.  We  needed  an  object  lesson  in  inter 
national  law. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Blair,  his  colleague  Reid,  Member  of 
Congress,  taken  in  arms,  was  expelled  this  first  day  of  the 
session  also. 

On  motion  of  Colfax,  Mason,  captured  as  above,  was  to 
be, upon  the  order  of  the  President,  incarcerated  until  Colo 
nel  Corcoran,  who  had  been  captured  at  Bull  Run  and 
imprisoned,  be  enlarged  and  treated  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 

Mr.  Eliot,  of  Massachusetts,  offered  a  resolution,  which, 
among  other  things,  declared  that  the  President,  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  armies,  or  a  general  under  him, 
as  a  war  measure,  could  by  proclamation  emancipate 
slaves.1 

Roscoe  Conkling  had  a  resolution  adopted  calling  for 
information  as  to  the  disaster  of  Ball's  Bluff.  The  House 
also  called  for  the  incarceration  of  Slidell,  till  the  wounded 
and  captured  Col.  Ward  be  liberated  and  treated  as  a 
prisoner  of  war.  These  various  orders  of  the  House  and 
motions  of  members  on  this  first  day  show  how  the 
atmosphere  of  the  North  was  changed  and  charged,  as 
well  as  indicating  the  popular  opinion  of  that  day. 

On  the  4th  of  December  Mr.  Saulsbury  offered  in  the 
Senate — with  a  long  Whereas — a  joint  resolution  to  ap 
point  Millard  Fillmore,  Franklin  Pierce,  Roger  B.  Taney, 
Edward  Everett,  Geo.  M.  Dallas,  Thomas  Ewing,  Horace 
Binney,  Reverdy  Johnson,  John  J.  Crittenden,  Geo.  E. 

1  This  broad  and  correct  view  was  in  this  country  first  taken  by  J.  Q. 
Adams,  in  the  debate  on  the  Oregon  controversy. 

Polk  had  declared  that  our  right  to  the  54°  40'  was  clear  and  unquestioned. 
The  party  war  cry  of  that  clay  was  "  54-40  or  fight."  Mr.  Adams  showed 
the  consequence  of  war  with  Britain.  A  general  in  the  field  could,  as  a 
war  measure,  emancipate  all  the  slaves.  By  consent,  Mr.  Giddings  fol 
lowed,  and  drew  a  ghastly  picture  of  a  British  general  landing  an  army  on 
the  Southern  coast,  made  defenceless  by  slavery,  and  proclaiming  freedom  to 
the  negroes  found  among  them.  In  sheer  terror  the  administration  backed 
down,  and  made  cowardly  haste  to  take  49°  as  the  northern  boundary. 


74  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [Dec.  1661 

Pugh,  and  Richard  W.  Thompson,  commissioners,  to 
meet  a  like  number,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Confederate 
States,  to  devise  a  plan  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union 
(and  slavery),  and  that  meantime  active  hostilities  should 
cease.  (They  had  ceased  as  far  as  McClellan  was  con 
cerned.)  This  was  laid  on  the  table.  On  the  same  day 
Mr.  Sumner  introduced  a  resolution  calling  for  copies  of 
Gen.  Halleck's  order,  directing  that  no  fugitive  slave 
should  be  received  within  his  lines  and  camps,  and  all 
such  now  present  be  at  once  thrust  out,  and  this  for  the 
Hallcckian  reason  that  they  would  give  information  to 
their  masters,  whom  they  had  run  away  from.  No  wonder 
the  soldiers  had  dubbed  the  old  General  "  Old  Brains." 
The  Senate  adopted  this  the  next  day. 

On  that  same  4th,  John  C.  Breckinridge,  then  a  Major- 
General  in  the  Confederate  Army,  was  expelled,  the 
vote  being  36  for  and  no  negatives ;  Powell  of  Kentucky 
not  voting,  and  Polk  and  Johnson  of  Missouri  and 
Andrew  Johnson  of  Tennessee  not  present. 

The  4th  was  a  busy  day  in  the  House.  The  Home 
stead  bill  was  reported  by  Mr.  Lovejoy.  Mr.  Hutchins 
offered  a  resolution  inquiring  into  the  use  of  the  jail  of 
the  District  as  a  slave  pen,  there  being  fifty-five  held 
there  then,  not  charged  with  offences.  Mr.  Holman 
offered  the  Crittenden  joint  resolution  of  July  22d.  The 
House  promptly  laid  it  on  the  table,  ji  to  65,  and  one  of 
the  "  gentlemen  from  Ohio  "  asked  his  colleagues  and  fel 
low  members  what  the  d—  -  they  meant  ?  Lovejoy  in 
troduced  a  bill  prohibiting  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
army  and  navy  from  being  engaged  in  the  capture  and 
return  of  fugitive  slaves. 

Mr.  Hutchins  introduced  a  bill  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  Mr.  Riddle  a  resolution  calling 
for  a  report  of  the  number  of  slaves  to  be  liberated,  and 
their  cash  value  as  property  in  the  slave  market  of  the 
Capital. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
AWAKENING  OF  CONGRESS. 

DECEMBER,  l86l. 

Gloom  of  the  Winter  of  1861-62. 

ALREADY  the  two  Houses,  twin  giants,  congenitally 
bound  to  act  together,  helpless  when  divided,  all  power 
ful  when  in  harmony,  were  beginning  to  awaken,  and  but 
half  seeing  in  the  twilight,  were  clumsily  fumbling  about, 
for  the  unaccustomed  weapons,  which  they  felt  must  be 
within  reach  somewhere.  They  were  pulling  themselves 
together,  and  rising  and  expanding  as  the  light  grew 
clearer,  and  assuming  with  heroic  proportions  the  attitude 
demanded  by  the  conflict  which  confronted  them. 

"  Wilson's  Creek  "  had  mitigated  Bull  Run,  nothing 
had  palliated  Ball's  Bluff ;  Garfield's  demolition  of  Hum 
phrey  Marshal  and  Mill  Spring  seemed  but  to  expose 
the  gloom. 

Congress  was  half  conscious  that  from  it  must  go  forth 
the  courage,  inspiration,  and  the  men,  the  money  support 
and  backing  that  could  alone  secure  the  success  of  the 
national  cause. 

How  awfully  dark  and  gloomy  closed  the  last  months 
of  the  year  1861,  over  and  around  the  Capital.  The  de 
pressing  aspects  of  the  war  were  supplemented  by  the 
unusual  storms  and  fogs  that  ruled  in  that  latitude  all  the 

75 


76  RECOLLECTIONS  OF   WAR    TIMES.       [Dec,  1861 

last  of  November  and  the  first  half  of  December.  There 
were  ten  days  of  such  dense  fog  that  one  standing  on  the 
sidewalk  of  the  avenue,  would  hear  the  roll  of  the  inter 
minable  procession  of  army  wagons  thundering  over  the 
cobble  stones,  but  get  no  glimpse  of  even  the  outline  of 
the  huge  canvas-covered  vehicles. 

Then  came  weeks  of  sun-lit  days  and  moon-  and  star 
lit  nights,  fittest  weather  for  a  winter  campaign.  Surely 
McClellan  would  move  to-morrow,  and  more  to-morrows. 
We  know  that  we  had  daily  dress  parades,  and  grand  re 
views,  and  we  heard  rumors  of  his  snubbing  the  Presi 
dent.  Some  of  us  went  to  his  wide,  well-appointed 
camps  and  saw  how  the  soldiers  lived,  and  thought  if  we 
found  a  family  thus  living,  apparently  in  want  and  ex 
posure,  we  should  carry  them  food,  and  take  them  to 
better  shelter,  so  new  and  so  rude  was  it  all  to  us. 

That,  too,  was  the  season  of  presenting  flags  and  swords 
with  speeches.1 

A  Pennsylvania  regiment  was  to  be  presented  with  a 
flag  or  a  brigadier  with  a  golden  scabbarded  dress  sword, 
and  Senator  Gowan  of  that  State  was  to  make  a  speech. 
He  took  the  Johnson  slide  later.  I  had  made  his 
acquaintance  and  been  asked  to  join  the  party.  N.  P. 
Willis,  then  a  correspondent  of  his  home  journal,  and 
living  in  Washington,  also  went  with  us,  and  others.  It 
was  new  and  interesting,  all  but  the  festival  at  headquar 
ters,  which  lasted  some  hours,  and  which  was  dull  to  a 
man  who  could  neither  eat  nor  drink. 

That  was  also  the  winter  of  brigadier-generals  in  Wash 
ington.  A  man  received  an  appointment ;  he  hastened 
to  thank  the  President,  show  his  bullion  and  uniform,  go 
to  Brady's  or  Ulke's  gallery  and  have  a  lot  of  photographs 

1  A  young  man  of  our  Grays  had  reached  a  deserved  commission,  and 
Henry  Slade  and  Will  Champion,  Cleveland  boys,  wished  me  to  present  him 
with  a  sword.  I  compromised — I  paid  for  the  sword,  and  they  went  out 
and  presented  it  in  a  blaze  of  glory  and  adjectives. 


Dec,  1861]  AWAKENING   OF  CONGRESS.  TJ 

taken  in  various  attitudes  for  his  lady  friends.  McDougal 
in  the  Senate  told  of  an  incident  near  the  Willard — a  man 
shied  a  rock  at  a  barking  dog ;  it  glanced  and  struck  two 
brigadiers.  Another  which  was  eagerly  vouched  for — a 
newsboy,  cried :  "  Sto-a-r !  Full  account  of  a  great 
battle  !  "  A  non-combatant  in  stars  eagerly  clutched  a 
paper,  ran  it  over,  and  returned  it  with — "  Here,  boy,  I 
don't  see  any  battle  !  "  "  No  and  you  never  will !  "  was 
the  response. 

Among  the  first  acts  of  Secretary  Stanton  was  an  order 
that  freed  the  Capital  of  these  ill-starred  gentlemen  in 
buttons.  The  unassigned  were  ordered  to  report  to  some 
general  for  duty,  as  might  be  directed. 

In  the  loose  working  of  the  scarcely  formulated  military 
machinery,  by  which  700,000  or  800,000  citizens  were  being 
turned  into  a  soldiery,  and  the  raw  article  transported  to 
the  various  points  through  and  to  the  camps  near  Wash 
ington,  there  were  constantly  in  and  about  the  city  thou 
sands  of  these  young  fellows  in  blue,  who  found 
themselves  shucked  out  of  their  proper  places,  and  left 
without  transportation  or  means  of  sustenance ;  in  which 
stress  they  were  certain  to  apply  to  a  Member  of  Congress 
from  their  district  or  State.  Such  men  were  constantly 
sent  to  me,  and  the  caring  for  them,  getting  transporta 
tion  and  subsistence,  took  all  a  man's  time  and  all  his 
change,  until  a  provost  marshal  and  finally  a  military 
governor  for  the  District  were  appointed.  Then  the  rapidly 
extemporized  hospitals  were  filled  with  the  sick.  It  was 
astonishing  how  many  in  camp,  or  garrisoning  the  newly 
constructed  fortifications — earthworks — about  the  city 
became  ill.  The  statistics  of  the  war  showing  this  feature 
of  the  service  are  almost  appalling.  The  sick  were  to  be 
visited,  and  furnished,  among  other  things  with  franked 
envelopes,till  I  found  mine  were  making  their  way  to  drink 
ing  places.  The  great  sanitary  associations,  which  became 
not  the  least  striking,  and  next  to  the  armies  in  the  field, 


78  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.        [Dec.  1861 

the  most  important  volunteer  adjuncts  of  the  war,  were 
then  in  embryo. 

These  sudden  convulsions,  the  shaking  up  and  attempted 
disruption  of  the  political  compact,  this  eternal  drum-beat, 
bugle  calls,  and  marchings  of  regiments,  with  the  startling 
headlines  of  the  press,  the  rumors  of  battle,  blood,  flight, 
and  disaster,  had  a  disturbing  influence  on  the  visionary 
and  weak-minded.  Many  of  these  had  calls  to  rush  to  the 
Capital  to  warn,  to  counsel,  or  to  take  the  helm  and  rule.  I 
remember  several  of  the  prophetic  order,  and  more  than  one 
who  had  been  commissioned  to  place  himself  at  the  head. 
Luckily  no  fanatic  of  the  bravo  stripe  then  appeared. 

The  form  of  one  of  the  religious  class,  lingers  with  dis 
tinctness  in  my  memory, — particularly  an  instance  of  his 
appearance  on  the  street.  One  day  at  early  twilight  I  ob 
served  a  broad,  tall  figure,  draped  in  a  long  flowing  gar 
ment,  head  uncovered,  and  showing  masses  of  long  black 
hair,  moving  along  the  street  with  slow  and  solemn 
stride.  Suddenly  as  if  a  message  came  to  him,  he  stopped, 
threw  back  his  head,  and  casting  his  deep,  cavernous  eyes 
upward,  he  extended  his  elevated  hands  imploringly,  and 
in  a  deep,  solemn  voice  of  far-reaching  power,  broke  forth 
into  one  of  the  most  moving  invocations  that  ever  met 
my  ear.  The  street  was  empty  and  silent,  and  this  strange 
figure,  bare-headed,  with  long  girded  robe,  seemed  a 
newly  arrived  prophet  from  the  land  of  the  East,  who  had 
come  to  invoke  and  warn,  and  such  in  spirit  he  was.  God 
was  specially  implored  to  arouse  and  call  his  chosen  to 
come  forth  sandalled  and  girded  for  a  long  dark  pilgrim 
age,  through  a  desert  wilderness  of  blood  and  havoc. 
Three  or  fourminutes'  invocation  continued,  then  he  sub 
sided,  moved  on  a  few  yards,  and  broke  forth  again.  I 
confess  that  the  impression  was  weird  and  uncanny.  I 
saw  him  after  that  and  heard  of  him  several  times.  Yet 
to  me  he  remained  the  same  solemn  mystery  as  on  that 
lonely  night.  He  was  sent  to  invoke — to  warn. 


Dec.  1861]  AWAKENING  OF  CONGRESS.  79 

Another  of  the  same  sort  had  the  usual  trouble  of  his 
class  :  to  get  hold — to  get  the  reins.  I  had  observed 
about  the  White  House  a  rather  undersized  man  of  active 
habits,  some  thirty-five  years  of  age,  seeming  to  have  no 
especial  errand  there,  who  went  about  watching  the  faces 
of  men,  and  listening  to  what  they  said  with  lively  curi 
osity.  I  had  also  seen  him  about  the  Capitol,  moving 
around  the  hall  in  the  morning  before  the  House  opened. 
Once  or  twice  he  managed  to  remain  in  until  after  prayer, 
and  was  then  hustled  out.  He  seemed  to  know  no  one — 
a  harmless,  moon-struck  young  man,  country-grown, 
neatly  clad  in  a  home-made  suit  of  light  brown.  In  the 
morning,  when  I  could  escape  the  soldiers  and  depart 
ments — (it  is  amazing  the  things  a  Member  of  Congress  is 
asked  to  do,  from  soliciting  an  office  to  selling  a  patent 
right),  I  would  hurry  to  the  House;  on  my  desk 
there  was  always  an  arrear  of  the  unanswered,  but — and 
no  matter  what  happened — the  inevitable  daily  letter  to 
the  dear  ones  at  home  was  despatched, — the  only  abso 
lutely  certain  thing  of  the  day.  One  morning  after  I  had 
seated  myself,  this  specially-commissioned  young  man 
came  in,  an  unusual  look  of  resolve  on  his  meaningless 
face.  Seeing  me  alone  he  approached,  and  casting  quick 
glances  about,  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  said  :  "  You 
are  one  of  the  Congress  fellers,  aint  you  ?  "  "  What 
makes  you  think  so  ?  "  was  my  response.  "  Wai — you 
are  a-sittin'  in  one  o'  the  seats,  'n  I  've  seen  you  'round 
talkin'  and  actin'  like  one  on  'em."  "  Well,  if  you  won't 
tell  on  me,"  was  my  hesitating  answer — "  No — no  !  I 
won't  tell.  I  should  n't  think  you  'd  want  to  have  it  git 
out.  I  won't  tell  on  ye."  "  Well,  then,  I  am  one  o'  the 
Congress  fellers."  "  Wai," — brightening — "  you  're  one  o' 
the  very  ones  to  help  me,"  he  replied,  earnestly  and  as- 
suringly.  "What  is  it?"  I  asked.  "Wai,  you  see," 
(stooping  near  me,  and  in  a  confidential  tone) — "  ye  see 
I  'm  sent  here  to  take  things  in  hand — ye  see  ;  an'  put 


80  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Dec.  1861 

'em  right — ye  understand?"  "Well,"  asked  I,  "why 
don't  you  take  right  hold  ?  It  needs  somebody,  the  Lord 
knows  !  "  "  Yis,  but  somehow  I  can't  seem  t'  git  hold. 
Can't  git  agoin' ;  an'  you  fellers  must  help  me,  ye  see." 
"  Well,  who  sent  you  ?  "  "  God  !  "—solemnly.  "  O-o-o ! 
He  did  ?  Well,  see  here — we  don't  have  anything  to  do 
with  Him.  The  American  Congress  never  has  had  any 
helpers.  Beside,  God  don't  like  interlopers,  you  know. 
Are  you  sure  He  sent  you  ?  "  "  Oh,  sure  as  I  live  !  "  was 
the  firm  reply.  "As  He  used  to  send  prophets?" 
"Exactly,  that  's  it— in  the  Old  Testament  times." 
"  Well,  don't  you  know  that  when  He  sent  a  man,  He 
always  opened  the  way,  provided  the  means?  His  man 
always  knew  how  to  get  hold.  If  I  were  you,  I  should  go 
right  back  for  instructions."  This  was  a  new  idea.  He 
stood  dazed  and  confused.  Seeing  a  group  of  the  House 
and  others,  who  had  come  in,  near  the  clerk's  desk,  I  took 
him  down  to  them,  and  in  a  solemn  way  told  them  of  his 
mission,  and  asked  them  to  see  what  could  be  done.  I 
saw  him  about  for  some  time  after  that,  waiting,  perhaps, 
for  instructions.  He  was  not  a  solitary  instance.  No 
one,  not  even  reporters,  had  time  to  preserve  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  stirring  events  of  the  time  the  memory  of 
these  harmless  flies. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

7 

THE  HOLIDAYS. 

DECEMBER,    1 86 1 — JANUARY,    1862. 

No  Adjournment  of  Congress — A  Quorum  Presumed — Return  to  Cleve 
land — Governor  Morton  of  Indiana. 

WITH  sharp  debates,  and  new  bills  referred,  with  races 
to  the  departments,  and  some  sight-showing  to  visitors 
December  3Oth  arrived.  Congress  usually  took  eight  or 
ten  days  for  the  holidays.  We  tried  to  work  right 
through,  but  found  ourselves  in  the  House  without  a 
quorum,  in  which  situation  our  arrangement  was  made 
that  no  call  of  either  House  should  be  had,  and  that  both 
should  continue  to  sit,  with  the  understanding  that  quo 
rums  be  present  on  Monday,  January  6th.  We  felt  this 
to  be  leave  to  go.  I  did  not  resolve  to  depart  till  the 
eve  of  the  3ist. 

How  eagerly  we  then  hied  to  the  railroad  station  in  the 
belated  next  dawn !  What  weary  delays  all  the  way ! 
We  reached  Pittsburg  about  I  A.M.  of  Sunday,  and  must 
stay  there  twenty-four  hours.  At  the  Monongahela 
House  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Governor  Oliver  P. 
Morton,  who  had  fortunately  been  elected  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Indiana,  with  Henry  S.  Lane  for  Governor. 
Fortunately  again,  Lane  was  elected  to  the  Senate,  and 
so  young  Morton,  full  of  brain,  blood,  brawn,  and  courage, 
6  8r 


82  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.       [Dec.  1861- 

went  to  the  lead  of  the  copper-headed,  golden-circled 
Indiana.  The  next  election  gave  the  Democrats  a  ma 
jority  in  the  Legislature  ;  they  refused  to  receive  a  mes 
sage  from  Morton,  and  were  about  to  take  the  command 
of  the  militia  from  him,  when  the  Republicans  of  the  body 
withdrew.  Morton  reigned  without  an  appropriation,  and 
Secretary  Stanton  advanced  funds  as  he  needed.  He  re 
cruited  soldiers  in  Kentucky,  and  permitted  Union  men 
of  Kentucky  to  raise  soldiers  in  his  own  southern  counties 
and  thus  preserved  Kentucky,  in  some  measure  at  least, 
for  the  Union  cause.  All  this  was  in  the  next  few  months, 
as  he  was  not  sworn  as  Governor  till  January  i6th.  Thus 
two  men  in  those  times,  with  their  eager,  intense  patriot 
ism,  thrown  into  one  room  at  the  Monongahela,  were 
made  warm  friends  and  old  acquaintances  when  late  next 
day  they  left  on  different  trains  for  home.  * 

Henry  Slade  purveyed  my  quarters  in  Washington  for 
that  winter.  I  boarded  at  Joy's,  corner  of  the  avenue  and 
gth  Street,  N.  W.,  my  rooms  being  across  gth  Street, 
nearly  opposite.  A  day  or  two  after  taking  possession,  a 
man  of  ordinary  height  and  figure,  plainly  clad,  with 
nothing  striking  in  look  or  manner,  came  in,  and  without 
naming  himself,  expressed  in  a  few  well  spoken  words 
very  warm  thanks  for  the  great  service  I  had  rendered 
him.  He  said  that  he  had  been  very  desirous  of  a  posi 
tion,  but  had  had  no  friends  of  influence  who  could  ap 
proach  the  President  to  ask  for  it  ;  I  was  taken  aback. 
With  a  flash  of  memory  over  a  wide  field  of  recent  solicita 
tion  for  places,  no  such  man  who  should  render  such 
thanks  arose  to  view.  It  was  too  embarrassing  to  say  to 

1  Another  acquaintance  to  be  recalled.  Up  to  that  time  Herbert  Spencer 
was  little  more  than  a  name  to  me  or  to  anybody  else  on  this  continent.  I 
had  seen  the  notices  of  his  first  book  :  Conditions  of  Human  Happiness. 
A  gentleman  at  the  Monongahela  House  had  the  volume,  which  he  loaned 
me,  and  I  found  time  to  take  a  very  deep  plunge  into  it.  What  an  exquisite 
find! 


Jan.  1862]  THE  H OLID  A  YS.  83 

such  expressions  of  gratitude  that  I  did  not  know  the 
speaker — I  could  not  ask  the  name,  I  could  not  presume 
to  not  know  the  man  receiving  such  benefaction  from  my 
hand.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  culture  and  pleasant  ad 
dress,  and  knew  to  whom  he  thus  expressed  himself, 
therefore  he  was  not  mistaken.  I  properly  disclaimed 
any  title  to  special  thanks,  saying  that  in  such  times  I  was 
only  anxious  to  secure  the  best  available  man  to  the  pub 
lic  service,  without  reference  to  parties,  or  a  desire  to  ad 
vance  personal  friends.  With  some  discursive  talk  of  the 
condition  of  things,  he  took  leave.  I  knew  from  his  first 
words  that  he  was  a  man  of  mark  and  a  decided  and  well 
known  Democrat,  and  one  known  not  to  sympathize  with 
the  Administration.  The  thing  puzzled  me  till  Slade 
came  in. 

"  So  General  Morgan  called  ?  "  said  he.  "  The  d ! 

So  that  was  Morgan  ?  Then  our  interview  is  explained." 
"Oh!  so  you  did  not  know  him?"  "  WHY,  no! 
Thunder  !  I  had  the  idea  of  a  blazing  hero,  and  here  was 
a  modest,  quiet,  bookish  man,  rather  than  the  famous 
leader  of  the  charge  at  Cherubusco.  I  knew  he  had  been 

at  West  Point,  but "  "  Well,"  returned  Slade,  laugh- 

ing,  "  he  was  as  disappointed  in  your  appearance.  He 
thought  the  man  who  won  Wade  and  Sherman,  Vallandig- 
ham  and  Sam  Cox  to  recommend  him  to  Lincoln  as  gen 
eral  in  this  war,  must  not  only  have  great  persuasive 
power,  but  have  also  personal  height  and  weight  and 
dignity." 

On  my  return  to  duty  in  the  House,  that  which  in  time 
of  peace  would  be  called  "  the  gay  world  "• — society — was 
beginning  to  show  animation.  In  that  day  more  depended 
on  the  White  House  and  Cabinet  than  now.  It  was  the 
winter  of  the  reign  of  the  Chevalier  Wykoff  in  Court 
circles,  and  of  the  Gipsey-Lay  at  the  Canterbury  Theatre. 
Speaker  Grow  began  his  receptions,  and  the  leading  ladies 
took  or  resumed  their  days.  I  boarded  with  the  Fentons  of 


84          RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR    TIMES.      IDec,  '61-Jan.  '62 

New  York,  and  we  were  soon  on  pleasant  terms.  Mrs. 
Fenton  was  an  elegant,  stately  woman,  who  kindly  gave 
me  countenance  socially,  and  I  was  surprised  to  find  how 
utterly  unceremonious,  informal,  and  accessible  the  best 
society  official  and  otherwise  was. 

Almost  the  first  thing  of  the  new  year  in  Congress  was 
the  expulsion  of  the  two  Missouri  Senators,  Johnson  and 
Polk.  They  went  out  on  the  same  day,  and  each  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  36  to  o.  They  were  succeeded  by 
John  B.  Henderson  and  Robert  Wilson.  Henderson  was 
a  large  gain,  a  peer  of  the  noblest  and  most  heroic  of  that 
Senate.  Jesse  D.  Bright  lingered  in  the  Senate  till  Feb 
ruary  5th,  and  "  seemed  loth  to  depart."  He  escaped  the 
first  bolt,  to  fall  by  the  lance  of  the  youthful  Wilkinson  of 
Minnesota.  The  vote  on  expulsion  was  32  to  14.  Among 
the  nays  were  Cowan,  Carlile,  Harris,  and  Ten  Eyck. 
There  was  thought  to  be  a  paucity  of  evidence,  the  sole 
thing  offered  against  him  being  a  letter  "  To  his  Excel 
lency,  Jefferson  Davis,  President  of  the  Confederate  States" 
strongly  recommending  a  friend  who  desired  to  sell  an 
improved  arm.  Jesse  might  have  been  put  out  on  "the 
Common  Counts  " — as  lawyers  say. 


CHAPTER   XV. 
THE  LEHMAN  AND  UPTON  CASES. 

JANUARY,  1862. 

Important   Questions   Involved — Can  an  Election  be  Declared  Void  for  a 
Paucity  of  Votes  ? — The  Effect  of  the  War  on  an  Election  in  Virginia. 

THE  House  had  to  settle  seats  under  contest,  two  of 
which  attracted  much  attention.  The  first  was  a  Penn 
sylvania  case,  Butler  vs.  Lehman,  and  came  up  in  January. 
Lehman,  a  slight,  nervous  German,  a  Democrat,  a  lawyer, 
held  the  certificate  of  election,  and  was  the  sitting  mem 
ber.  Butler  was  a  Tammany-like  Republican  boss  of 
Philadelphia.  The  whole  Republican  delegation  were 
strongly  interested,  the  House  being  three  to  one  Re 
publican.  The  Committee  of  Elections  were  Dawes, 
Campbell,  and  Kelley  of  Pennsylvania,  McKean,  Loomis, 
Baxter,  Worcester,  Voorhees,  and  Menzies,  two  Democrats 
to  seven  Republicans.  My  colleague,  Worcester,  who 
brought  the  case  with  the  evidence  to  my  notice,  was  a 
fairly  good  lawyer,  but  he  was  timid,  and  doubted  him 
self.  To  me  it  presented  a  deliberate  attempt,  by  fraud, 
forgery,  and  perjury,  to  steal  a  seat.  I  urged  him  to 
unite  with  Menzies  and  Voorhees  in  a  minority  report, 
which  he  consented  to  do  if  I  would  stand  by  him  on  the 
floor  and  take  the  case  off  his  hands. 

Loomis  opened  the  case  for  Butler.  By  his  statement 
Lehman  had  a  seeming  majority  of  132.  Some  time 

85 


86  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Jan,  1862 

after  the  result  was  declared,  an  alleged  error  was  de 
tected,  and  under  the  Pennsylvania  law  a  recount  of  the 
ballots  was  had.  The  recount  showed,  as  contended,  that 
in  three  boxes,  containing  ballots  from  nine  polling  places, 
172  votes  cast  for  Butler  had  been  counted  for  Lehman. 
The  identity  of  the  three  boxes,  as  was  contended,  had 
not  at  the  recount  been  questioned  by  Lehman.  The 
testimony,  it  was  admitted,  showed  much  looseness  in  the 
care  of  the  boxes,  but  it  was  claimed  that  the  ballots  coin 
cided  with  the  poll  books. 

Mr.  Worcester  followed  Loomis  in  support  of  his  re 
port — ineffectively,  as  was  felt  by  the  House,  and  he  was 
cut  off  by  the  hour  rule.1 

Mr.  Riddle  followed  Worcester.  It  was  a  case  for  a  law 
yer  personally  free  to  appear  on  the  right  side,  and  stimu 
lated  by  being  in  opposition  to  his  party.  Mr.  Riddle's 
first  words  advised  the  House  that  he  was  against  the  ma 
jority  report,  at  which  Crittenden,  Wickliff,  Menzies,  and 
other  Democrats  passed  over  and  secured  seats  near  him. 

He  confined  himself  to  two  points.  Butler's  case  de 
pended  on  his  establishing  the  identity  of  the  three  boxes 
with  those  admitted  to  have  been  used  at  the  polls,  and 
proof  of  the  identity  of  the  ballots  found  in  them  as  those 
cast  by  the  electors.  The  boxes  were  in  the  loose  cus 
tody  of  loose  aldermen.  Each  was  found  with  an  assort 
ment  of  about  twenty  boxes,  to  which  any  man  could  gain 
access,  no  one  of  which  bore  any  prescribed  or  other  mark 
of  identity.  The  Pennsylvania  law  authorized  a  recount, 
but  did  not  prescribe  any  rules  or  care  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  ballots.  The  important,  all-controlling  evi 
dence,  were  the  ballots  themselves.  They  fell  under  the 
ordinary  rule  and  their  execution  was  first  to  be  estab- 

1  Worcester,  a  brother  of  the  lexicographer,  was  angularly  made  up  ;  a 
man  of  culture,  his  faculties  all  seemed  to  act  independently  of  each  other. 
The  same  peculiarity  was  noticed  in  his  physical  frame  ;  his  hands  seemed 
to  be  doing  different  things,  and  his  feet  trying  to  walk  different  ways. 


Jan.  1862]        THE  LEHMAN  AND  UPTON  CASES.  S/ 

lished  before  they  could  be  considered.  Mr.  Riddle  read 
from  the  majority  report,  which  contended  that  the  iden 
tity  of  a  box  was  established  by  its  contents. 

MR.  DAWES. — "  In  each  box  was  found  a  sealed  certificate  of  the  names, 
together  with  oaths  of  the  sworn  officers  who  conducted  the  poll  in  a  partipu- 
lar  precinct.  What  more  can  be  required  to  trace  it  right  to  the  precinct  ?  " 

MR.  RIDDLE. — "  Do  you  prove  the  identity  of  the  box  by  its  contents? 
Even  if  you  hold  these  certificates  proven,  does  that  establish  the  validity  of 
every  loose  slip  of  paper  found  in  the  same  box  ?  I  am  speaking  of  the 
ballots  alone." 

MR.  DAWES. — "  Now  will  the  gentleman  tell  us  what  he  means  by  proving 
the  execution  of  ballots  ?  " 

MR.  RIDDLE. — "  In  effect,  there  are  many  ways  of  proving  the  execution 
of  a  paper.  It  is  not  necessary  to  prove  a  signature,  nor  yet  that  there  be 
one  ;  a  man  finds  a  printed  paper  fitted  to  his  use  and  uses  it — that  is  his 
execution  of  it.  A  voter  took  one  of  these  ballots  prepared  for  him  by  men 
who  thus  became  his  agents,  and  he  delivered  it  as  his  ballot  into  hands 
qualified  by  law  to  receive  it.  That  is  his  execution,  his  delivery  of  it. 
Prove  this,  and  the  gentleman  proves  his  case.  It  is  direct  evidence.  Fail 
ing  this,  Butler's  advocates  resort  to  indirect,  yet  legal  methods.  Do  not 
let  the  House  be  misled.  The  ballots  are  the  potent  things.  The  boxes 
themselves  are  so  many  soulless  shells,  having  no  significance,  though  a 
thousand  times  identified.  That  is  but  one,  a  remote  step  in  proof.  The 
gentleman  may  show  where  these  ballots,  here  produced,  came  from.  They 
do  show  that  they  were  found  in  certain  boxes,  in  the  care  of  certain  Alder 
men.  They  open  them  and  find  in  them  certain  slips  of  paper,  some  with 
the  name  of  Butler,  and  others  with  Lehman's  name  on  them,  and  without 
a  shadow  of  proof,  these  are  assumed  to  be  the  ballots  actually  cast  for  the 
gentlemen  at  the  election,  and  being  such  ballots,  and  found  in  these  three 
boxes,  their  presence  in  the  boxes  proves  that  the  depositories  were  the 
boxes,  and  the  identity  of  the  boxes  being  thus  established,  they  obligingly 
turn  about  and  prove  that  the  ballots  found  in  them  were  the  identical  votes 
cast  by  the  voters.  Was  there  ever  anything  so  logical,  conclusive,  and  sat 
isfactory  !  Beyond  this,  nothing." 

This  was  all  the  proof  on  that  point,  and  a  few  pertinent 
words  put  this  matter  beyond  reply. 

Turning  to  another  equally  important  proposition,  that 
these  172  votes  were  erroneously  counted  for  Lehman, 
when  they  were  cast  for  Butler,  he  proceeded,  according 
to  the  Globe : 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Jan.  1862 

"  A  single  word  further  on  another  proposition.  I  understand  that  it  is. 
not  urged  here  by  the  gentlemen  who  represent  the  majority  of  the  commit 
tee,  that  there  is  any  proof  implicating  in  fraud  the  parties  who  made  these 
blunders,  to  call  them  by  the  softest  name.  But  they  say  that  the  whole 
thing  is  to  be  accounted  for,  and  that  we  are  bound  to  presume  there  was  a 
series  of  mistakes  on  the  part  of  the  election  judges.  Well,  sir,  in  this 
blundering  world  a  good  deal  may  be  charged  to  the  account  of  mere  acci 
dent  ;  but  when  we  are  asked  to  presume  that  172  independent  and  distinct 
blunders  have  all  happened  in  this  one  case,  then  I  say  that  gentlemen  are 
indeed  challenging  the  credulity  of  the  House.  They  say  that  each  and 
every  one  of  these  ballots  were  miscounted  through  mistake  ;  and  when 
you  come  to  aggregate  this  amazing  accumulation  of  mistakes,  you  find  that 
they  reach  the  round  sum  of  172.  Committed  by  whom  ?  By  a  single  indi 
vidual  ?  Not  at  all.  Committed  by  two,  three,  four,  six,  eight,  ten,  or  a 
dozen  ?  No.  The  proof  is  that  it  implicates  just  exactly  ninety.  Ninety 
gentlemen  have  thus,  by  a  singular  and  general  assembly  of  blunders,  con 
spired  through  mere  accident  to  commit  this  mistake,  not  once,  but  172  dis 
tinct  times.  I  say,  sir,  that  the  thing  is  too  staggering.  It  is  not  to  be 
accounted  for  upon  any  hypotheses  that  control  the  mistakes  and  blunders 
of  men. 

' '  And  more  than  that  (and  here  comes  the  most  remarkable  and  singular 
feature  of  the  most  strange  chapter  of  human  mistakes  and  blunders),  every 
one  of  them  was  made  on  one  side.  Singular  and  startling  as  it  may  seem, 
every  mistake  was  made  against  the  contestant.  I  say,  that  such  an  amazing 
feature  running  through  this  startling  chapter  of  accidents  is  too  much  for 
human  credulity.  It  cannot  be  accounted  for  upon  any  such  hypothesis  as 
the  majority  of  the  Committee  of  Elections  present.  If  there  had  been  a 
single  mistake  ;  if  there  had  been  a  single  blunder,  or  if  there  had  been  a 
series  of  mistakes  made  by  a  single  man,  or  pertaining  to  a  single  ward  ;  if 
there  was  such  uncertainty  as  to  leave  the  question  quivering  in  the  balance, 
we  might  charitably  suppose  an  accident  might  account  for  the  difference. 
But,  sir,  there  is  no  process  of  reasoning  which  will  tolerate  our  belief  in 
such  an  accumulation  of  overwhelming  systematic  blunders  and  accidents, 
all  in  one  direction,  all  conspiring  to  produce  one  result,  without  one  mis 
take  happening  the  other  way.  The  only  possible  hypothesis  by  which  it 
can  be  accounted  for  is,  that  this  most  remarkable  series  of  mistakes  hap 
pened  by  design — to  wit,  some  ingenious  hand  took  from  these  three  boxes 
172  of  the  votes  cast  for  Lehman,  and  replaced  them  with  172  ballots  for 
Butler  not  cast  at  all."1 

1  While  speaking  I  noticed  standing  near  and  before  me  in  the  alley  lead 
ing  down  toward  the  Speaker,  a  small  wiry  man  facing  me,  evidently  greatly 
moved,  with  tears  unheeded  streaming  down  his  face,  his  body  rising  and 
sinking  at  the  knees  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  my  sentences  and  voice.  It 
was  Lehman,  whom  I  had  never  before  seen. 


Jan.  1862]        THE  LEHMAN  AND  UPTON  CASES.  89 

McKean  and  Campbell  (Speaker  Grow  had  placed  two 
of  his  colleagues,  Campbell  and  Kelley,  on  the  committee) 
followed  at  considerable  length  and  with  much  warmth 
for  Butler,  and  Menzies  replied  for  the  minority.  The 
argument  by  these  three  gentlemen  of  the  committee  was 
conducted  with  ability  and  fairness,  Menzies  being  the 
only  Democrat  who  spoke  on  the  case.  The  House 
ordered  the  vote  to  be  taken  at  one  P.M.  the  next  day. 

The  vote  was  taken  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  Lehman  re 
tained  his  seat  by  77  to  67  for  Butler.  This  decision, 
under  the  conditions  of  the  House,  has  always  been 
regarded  as  remarkable. 

Lehman  proved  himself  to  be  as  true  a  Union  man  as 
the  House  held. 

The  case  of  Charles  P.  Upton  of  Virginia  is  in  many 
respects  the  most  interesting  in  the  annals  of  the  House,, 
and  was  one  of  the  best  discussed  ;  the  decision  on  it  was 
never  very  satisfactory  to  the  constitutional  lawyers  of 
the  House.  As  has  been  stated,  Virginia  took  herself 
into  the  Confederacy  by  an  ordinance  passed  on  April 
17,  1 86 1.  By  the  law  of  the  State,  elections  for  represen 
tatives  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  fell  on  the 
fourth  Thursday  (23d)  of  May.  Upton's  district  was  the 
7th,  the  Alexandria  District.  There  were  at  the  time  no 
organized  rebel  soldiery  in  this  district,  but  the  utmost 
disorder  everywhere  existed,  and  armed  men  were  going 
about,  and  constant  dread  and  excitement  were  prevalent. 
The  election  was  generally  everywhere  disregarded.  On 
the  day  designated,  a  poll  was  opened  at  Ball's  Cross 
Roads,  Alexandria  County,  by  the  proper  officers  (though 
a  question  was  raised  that  they  were  not  sworn),  at  which 
ten  votes  by  qualified  electors  were  cast  for  Upton,  there 
being  some  showing  of  a  few  cast  at  other  points  in  the 
District.  At  the  extra  session  of  July  4th,  Upton,  with 
such  credentials  as  he  could,  under  the  existing  condi 
tions,  secure,  presented  himself,  had  his  name  enrolled  by 


9O  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Jan.  1862 

the  clerk  of  the  36th  Congress,1  who,  as  stated,  organized 
the  House.  When  his  name  was  reached,  objection  was 
made  to  his  being  sworn  ;  the  matter  was  discussed,  laid 
over,  called  up,  more  debate  was  had,  and  he  was  sworn. 
It  was  not  a  case  of  contest,  but,  as  was  later  claimed,  his 
ultimate  right  was  thus  passed  upon  and  settled  in  his 
favor.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  Western  Virginia, 
at  Wheeling,  a  solemnly  called  convention  of  the  people, 
by  exercise  of  the  inherent  "  reserved  "  rights  of  men  as 
citizens,  undertook  to  provide  for  the  anarchic  state  in 
which  they  were  left,  by  repudiating  secession. 

Among  other  things,  by  ordinance  of  August  2Oth,  they 
authorized  elections  for  Congress  in  districts  which  had 
failed  to  elect  on  the  designated  day.  Under  a  proclama 
tion  our  Governor  Pierpont  of  Virginia  issued  for  the 
election  of  Representatives  in  our  Congress,  polls  were 
opened  in  Alexandria,  the  extent  of  his  admitted  juris 
diction,  at  which  J.  Ferguson  Beach,  a  distinguished  law 
yer  and  eminent  man,  was  voted  for.  He  memorialized  the 
House,  and  was  admitted  to  contest  Upton's  seat.  The 
House  gave  no  further  attention  to  his  claim,  but  on  the 
30th  of  January,  1862,  the  committee  reported  that  Upton 
was  not  entitled  to  a  seat. 

Mr.  Upton  and  his  friends  asked  me  to  examine  his 
case,  and  if  I  should  conclude  that  he  was  entitled  to  his 
seat,  requested  that  I  should  address  the  House,  and  take 
that  charge  of  it  on  the  floor,  as  a  member  does  of  a  bill 
committed  to  his  hands. 

It  was  claimed  against  him  that  he  was  not  a  citizen  of 
Virginia,  and  that  he  had  received  no  votes  at  an  election 
under  the  Virginia  laws.  The  former  statement  made  no 
figure  in  the  debate  or  in  the  judgment  of  the  House. 
Mr.  Worcester  opened  the  argument  of  the  case  against 

1  For  many  years  it  has  been  the  usage  for  the  clerk  of  the  last  House  to 
organize  the  House  of  the  next  ensuing  Congress. 


Jan,  186 2]        THE  LEHMAN  AND   UPTON  CASES.  9 1 

him.     I  give  from  the  Globe  his  statement  of  the  status 
of  the  7th  District  on  the  day  of  election. 

"  The  revolutionary  condition  of  that  part  of  Virginia  where  this  district 
is  located  was  brought  into  question  both  by  the  memorial  of  the  contest 
ant  and  the  answer  by  the  sitting  member.  The  committee  have  endeav 
ored  to  ascertain  as  far  as  possible  the  facts  which  could  be  shown  to  have 
existed  to  prevent  or  obstruct  the  election  in  this  Congressional  district  in 
the  month  of  May  last,  as  alleged  by  the  contestant.  It  appears  from  the 
current  history  of  events  that  a  revolutionary  convention,  called  in  the  State 
of  Virginia  in  the  month  of  February,  1861,  adopted  what  was  called  an 
ordinance  of  secession.  That  ordinance,  in  terms,  repealed  the  ratifica 
tion  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  by  the  State  of  Virginia, 
and  resumed  to  the  State  all  the  rights  and  powers  granted  by  that  ratifica 
tion.  Immediately  thereafter  the  State  of  Virginia  claimed  to  be  inde 
pendent,  and  the  secession  convention  passed  another  ordinance  recognizing 
the  independence  of  the  confederated  States.  During  the  month  of  April 
of  the  same  year,  and  not  long  after  the  passage  of  the  ordinance  of  seces 
sion,  the  State  of  Virginia  became,  by  the  act  of  its  convention  and  its  Ex 
ecutive,  a  member  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  On  the  24th  of  April  of 
that  year,  an  ordinance,  was  passed  suspending  the  election  of  members  of 
Congress,  which  ought  to  have  taken  place  on  the  following  23d  of  May.  It 
was  provided  by  the  law  of  Virginia  passed  in  1853,  that  the  election  of 
Congress  should  take  place  at  the  time  I  have  named.  The  question  to  be 
considered  by  the  committee  was  the  effect  of  that  ordinance  of  secession 
and  the  subsequent  ordinance  of  the  convention  upon  this  Congressional 
district. 

"  It  made  the  duty  of  each  State  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  to  pass  laws  fixing  the  time,  place,  and  manner  of  holding  elections 
for  members  of  Congress.  The  Constitution  in  that  respect  is  mandatory 
upon  each  State.  If  a  State  has  adopted  a  law  regulating  the  election  of 
members  of  Congress,  that  law  maybe  repealed  by  the  same  power  that  has 
enacted  it.  The  convention  of  Virginia  claimed  to  exercise  in  what  it  did 
the  powers  of  Legislature.  Its  acts  and  its  ordinances  were  received,  re 
spected,  obeyed,  and  had  the  force  of  laws  in  all  that  portion  of  Virginia 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  All  the  executive  officers  of  the  State,  from  the 
governor  down  to  the  constable,  lent  their  aid  to  enforce  these  ordinances. 
From  what  the  committee  can  understand,  it  appears  that,  at  the  time  re 
ferred  to,  the  law  for  the  election  of  members  of  Congress  was  not  only  in 
terms  suspended  by  the  convention,  but  the  election  officers  were  suspended. 
There  were,  therefore,  no  officers  who  could  execute  it. 

"  The  Committee  of  Elections  fully  admit  that  all  of  these  acts  of  that 
convention  were  revolutionary  ;  that  they  were  usurpations  ;  that  the 
people  of  the  eastern  portion  of  Virginia  were  neither  legally  nor  morally 


92  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Jan,  1862 

bound  to  obey  them.  The  very  usurpation,  however,  implies  that  the  party 
who  usurps  has  the  control  and  the  possession  of  the  rights  and  powers  which 
he  has  usurped.  The  question  is  simply  one  of  fact,  not  whether  it  may 
have  been  legally  right  for  the  people  of  the  eastern  portion  of  Virginia  to 
elect  a  member  of  Congress  in  the  month  of  May  last,  but  whether  it  was 
legally,  physically  possible  for  them  to  do  so.  But  the  sitting  member 
claims,  and  he  must  claim  in  order  to  support  his  case,  that  this  elective 
law  of  1853  was  not  only  in  force,  but  that  he  was  elected  in  all  respects  in 
pursuance  of  that  law.  -The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  prescribes 
the  qualifications  of  a  person  entitled  to  a  seat  as  a  member  of  this  House." 

The  argument  took  the  ground,  that  the  law  was  to  be 
as  strictly  pursued  in  the  case,  as  would  be  required  in  an 
ordinary  healthy  time  of  peace  and  reign  of  law,  and  the 
claimant  must  present  the  governor's  certificate,  on  due 
return,  and  all  the  statutory  requirements  must  be  ob 
served.  This,  as  was  argued,  nullified  any  election  or 
ballots  cast. 

MR.  RIDDLE  contended  that  "the  record  showed  that  the  House  had 
the  case  and  the  facts  before  it  at  the  called  session  and  passed  upon  them, 
and  it  received  Mr.  Upton  and  had  him  sworn.  Thus  he  is  shown  by  the 
Globe  to  have  met  the  requirements.  The  sitting  member  was  sworn  in 
after  the  attention  of  the  House  had  been  called  to  his  position  as  a  claimant 
and  when  there  was  no  adverse  claim  upon  the  floor.  The  fifth  section  of 
the  article  of  the  Constitution  provides  that  each  House  shall  be  the  judge 
of  the  election  return  and  qualifications  of  its  members,  and  shall  exercise  to 
that  extent,  of  course,  judicial  functions,  and  I  suppose  that  when  they  have 
exercised  that  function  in  a  given  case,  they  have  used  it  up,  so  far  as  that 
case  is  concerned.  I  am  not  aware  that  any  provision  of  the  Constitution, 
nor  any  law  of  Congress,  nor  of  any  usage  of  this  House  permits  it  to  under 
take  to  reconsider  or  review  its  own  decision.  I  have  never  heard  of  such 
a  thing,  and  the  effect  of  the  administration  of  the  oath  upon  this  gentleman 
was  to  make  him  conclusively  and  bona  fide  as  much  a  member  of  this  House 
as  any  gentleman  who  occupies  a  seat  in  it,  and,  in  my  judgment,  he  can 
only  be  got  rid  of  by  the  same  means  as  by  which  other  members  can  be 
excluded. 

"  Now,  sir,  in  some  cases  a  man  comes  here  with  only  a  prim a  facie  case  ; 
he  is  to  some  extent  paired  off  with  another  claimant ;  the  House  finds  upon 
hasty  consideration  that  he  has  a  claim  which  entitles  him  to  receive  the 
oath,  and  in  such  a  case  it  is  expressly  or  impliedly  understood,  from  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  contestant,  that  the  case  is  not  conclusively  settled.  But 
I  submit  to  the  judicial  consideration  of  the  House,  that  when  a  man  comes 


Jan.  1862]        THE  LEHMAN  AND   UPTON  CASES.  93 

here  and  claims  a  seat  to  which  there  is  no  contestant  (and  especially  in  a 
case  where  an  objection  is  raised,  and  the  House  considers  it  and  votes  it 
down,  and  then  administers  the  oath  to  him  as  it  is  administered  to  others), 
that  the  function  of  judging  the  qualifications  and  the  election  of  that  man 
has  been  exercised  ;  and  that  there  is  no  power  by  which  the  decision  may 
be  reconsidered,  unless  you  can  charge  upon  the  sitting  members  some  act 
of  fraud.  There  is  but  one  other  function,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  which 
the  House  can  exercise  if  they  wish  to  vacate  his  seat,  and  that  is  by  a 
motion  or  resolution  for  his  expulsion,  on  proper  cause  made, — a  motion 
which  requires  a  two-thirds  vote. 

"Subsequently,  on  a  later  day  in  the  last  session,  as  was  said  by  the 
gentleman  in  his  opening,  the  question  of  the  eligibility  of  this  gentleman 
to  his  seat  and  the  regularity  of  his  election  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
of  Elections,  whether  for  the  purpose  of  reconsidering  his  admission  or  of 
predicating  a  resolution  for  his  expulsion,  we  are  not  informed  by  the  resolu 
tion  itself.  The  committee,  not  quite  content  with  reporting  on  this 
eligibility  and  the  regularity  of  his  election,  reported,  after  finding  that  he 
was  eligible,  that  he  was  not  entitled  to  a  seat  in  this  House.  Now,  I 
submit  that  even  if  a  majority  of  the  House  should  find  that  he  was  not 
entitled  to  his  seat,  that  would  not,  for  reasons  already  stated,  vacate  the 
seat  unless  the  majority  rose  to  two  thirds. 

"  Before  calling  attention  to  the  report  and  some  of  its  reasonings,  I  wish 
to  say  a  word  or  two  in  regard  to  some  very  important  principles  that  seem 
to  me  to  lie  a  little  below  the  ground  occupied  by  the  committee  in  its  re 
port.  The  great  primal  law,  so  to  speak,  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all 
American  politics — to  wit,  the  right  of  the  people  to  govern  themselves,  finds 
its  expression  in  this  other  equally  primary  law,  that  they  shall  so  govern  by 
their  representatives.  It  therefore  becomes  of  the  gravest  consequence  that 
this  right  of  expressing  their  preference  or  declaring  their  choice  for  repre 
sentatives  who  shall  carry  forward  the  process  of  government,  shall  be  by 
the  amplest  means  secured  to  the  people.  This  is  the  thing  to  be  accom 
plished.  All  the  various  laws  of  the  United  States  or  of  the  several  States 
regulating  elections,  are  but  the  means  employed  to  insure  to  the  people  the 
exercise  of  their  right  of  choice,  and  to  permit  them,  through  constitutional 
and  legal  forms,  to  express  that  choice.  Every  presumption  of  fact,  every 
intendment  of  law,  and  every  construction  of  law  and  of  fact  are  to  be  in 
favor  of  giving  effect  to  this  voice  of  the  people  in  a  given  case,  and  can 
never  be  used  to  defeat  it.  The  purpose  and  object  to  be  arrived  at  is,  What 
did  the  people  wish  ?  For  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  that,  we  pay  little 
respect  to  broad  seals  ;  we  pry  them  up.  We  do  not  pay  much  attention  to 
enactments  ;  we  cleave  whole  volumes  of  them  asunder,  so  that  we  may 
arrive  at  the  wish  of  the  people,  as  it  resides  in  them,  pure  as  light  is  said  to 
reside  in  the  diamond.  It  is  a  defeat  of  the  primary,  as  well  as  of  the  para 
mount,  object  of  these  various  election  laws,  to  use  them,  or  permit  them  to 
be  used,  to  prevent  the  purpose  and  object  of  the  people.  \Vherever,  when- 


94  RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Jan.  1862 

ever,  and  however  it  can  be  ascertained,  that  under  the  form  sand  color  of 
law,  a  people  have  expressed  their  wish  for  a  Representative  in  a  given  case, 
that  wish  must  have  effect  given  to  it.  I  believe  there  can  be  no  exception 
whatever  to  this  rule,  and  that  there  never  was. 

"  Now  here  is  a  Congressional  district,  called  the  7th  District  of  the 
State  of  Virginia.  All  its  multiplied  and  various  interests  are  to  be  repre 
sented  on  this  floor.  Its  territory,  which  is  a  portion  of  the  United  States, 
the  eminent  domain  of  a  variety  of  interests  (interests  of  property,  interests 
geographical  and  commercial,  and  all  other,  before  you  reach  the  ultimate, 
greatest,  and  last  interest — the  interest  of  the  people  themselves),  which  are 
to  find  expression  and  representation  on  this  floor,  or  are  to  be  denied.  One 
would  suppose  that  the  theory  was  that  the  right  of  self-government,  if  it  is 
to  be  exercised  by  Representatives,  would  carry  with  it  the  right  of  universal 
suffrage.  That  is  not  the  American  rule.  The  Constitution  has  left  to  the 
State  authorities  the  right  to  designate  who,  in  a  congressional  district  hav 
ing  perhaps  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  shall  give  expression  to  their 
will  in  the  selection  of  a  Representative.  It  is  said  here  by  this  committee 
that  in  the  7th  District  of  Virginia  this  choice  is  to  be  expressed  by  about  six 
thousand  or  eight  thousand — not  one  tenth,  nor  more  than  one  twelfth  of  the 
inhabitants.  These  voters  are  not  the  only  persons  interested  in  this  thing. 
They  are  but  the  agents  of  the  inhabitants  to  express  their  wish  in  a  given 
instance,  to  put  them  in  official  relations  with  the  General  Government.  When 
they  have  exercised  that  function — the  voting  for  a  Representative  in  Congress 
— they  sink  back  again  into  the  great  mass  of  the  constituency.  They  have  no 
interest  independent  of  that  of  everybody  else.  They  are  in  no  sense  to  be 
considered  constituents  in  contradistinction  to  all  the  other  inhabitants  of 
their  congressional  district.  They  are  the  agents  on  the  part  of  the  people, 
and  the  agents  on  the  part  of  the  General  Government,  to  put  the  particular 
congressional  district  in  official  relations  with  the  General  Government  in 
all  its  various  territorial,  commercial,  geographical,  and  other  interests. 

"  Now,  sir,  has  any  law  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  enforced 
this  duty  on  these  official  agents?  Does  it  enjoin  that  they  shall  do  it? 
Does  it  impose  on  them  any  penalty  if  they  fail  to  do  it  ?  Does  any  law  of 
the  State  of  Virginia  impose  this  duty  on  them,  any  disability  if  they  dis 
regard  it  ?  Have  the  people  of  a  given  congressional  district  any  constitu 
tional  or  legal  power  to  coerce  or  enforce  this  discharge  of  official  duty  on 
the  part  of  these  agents,  save  only  the  sometimes  strong,  sometimes  weak 
force  of  public  opinion  ?  None  at  all.  Does  the  law  of  Congress  or  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  require  that  all  or  any  specified  part  of 
these  official  agents  shall  unite  to  express  the  will  of  the  people  ?  Not  at  all. 
Is  there  any  law  of  the  State  of  Virginia  which  requires  for  the  election  of  a 
member  of  Congress  the  concurrent  action  of  one  half,  two  thirds,  three 
fourths,  or  of  any  other  number  ?  Not  at  all.  What  is  the  legal  and  consti 
tutional  conclusion  from  these  premises  ?  Why,  that  any  number,  from  one 
to  ten  thousand,  who  shall,  in  accordance  with,  and  under  color  of  the  law 


Jan.  1862]        THE   LEHMAN  AND   UPTON   CASES.  95 

of  the  State,  in  proper  time  and  manner,  deposit  one  vote  or  the  whole 
number  of  votes  for  a  given  candidate,  are  entitled  to  have  effect  given  to 
their  will.  Does  the  Constitution  or  any  law  provide  that  in  case  of  an  in 
vasion  of  territory,  or  in  case  of  an  insurrection  involving  the  majority  of  the 
inhabitants,  this  right  to  express  the  will  of  the  people  in  the  choice  of  their 
representative  shall  not  take  effect  ?  Not  at  all.  There  is  no  qualification 
or  condition  of  any  sort  appended  to  this  right.  It  is  complete,  wholly  un 
qualified,  and  unconditional. 

"  This  gives  additional  strength  and  support  to  the  conclusion  at  which  I 
have  just  arrived— to  wit,  that  any  number  of  electors  who  shall  attempt,  in 
good  faith  and  under  color  and  form  of  law,  to  give  utterance  and  expres 
sion  to  the  will  of  the  people,  and  shall  so  utter  and  express  it,  may  be  suf 
ficient  to  exercise  that  power.  They  are  agents,  trustees  of  a  power, 
coupled,  to  be  sure,  with  an  interest,  but  with  no  interest  independent  of 
the  interest  of  all  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  district.  It  would  be  intoler 
able  to  admit  any  other  rule.  It  seems  to  me,  without  the  least  disrespect 
to  these  gentlemen,  that,  somehow  or  other,  if  they  have  not  found  the  water 
here  too  deep  for  them,  they  have  found  it  too  turbid  and  chilly  for  them  to 
venture  over  it.  It  would  almost  seem  as  if  they  contented  themselves  with 
making  a  few  incoherent  excuses  for  not  attempting  the  passage.  It  seems 
as  if  the  able  and  distinguished  lawyers  who  constitute  the  Committee  of 
Elections  brought  to  the  adjudication  of  these  great  questions,  too  narrow 
and  too  technical  rules,  that  are  perhaps  safe  and  prudent  in  cases  of  assault 
and  battery,  or  in  matters  of  book  accounts,  but  which  utterly  fail,  in  my 
judgment,  to  measure  the  everlasting  questions  of  right  and  wrong,  as  they 
lie  hidden  beneath  your  Constitution,  and  which  alone  give  it  validity  and 
sanction. 

"  The  question  is  not  whether  a  majority  or  two  thirds  or  three  quarters  of 
the  qualified  voters  of  the  district  actually  expressed  their  choice  ;  the  ques 
tion  is  whether  any  of  the  qualified  voters  of  the  district  attended  on  behalf 
of  the  people  under  color  of  law  and  did  exercise  the  elective  franchise 
upon  the  day  named  in  the  unrepealed  law  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  If  so, 
I  insist  upon  it  that  this  House  must  give  effect  to  that  election. 

"  It  is  conceded  that  the  23d  of  May,  1861,  was  the  day  designated  by  the 
laws  of  the  State  of  Virginia  for  the  election  of  members  of  Congress.  It  is 
conceded  that  on  the  day  of  the  election  an  election  was  holden  at  the  pre 
cinct  of  Ball's  Cross  Roads.  It  is  in  proof  that  the  State  authorities  did 
formally  at  that  place  open  an  election  for  a  member  of  Congress. 

44  But  I  am  met  right  here  with  what  is  considered  a  very  grave  and  fatal  ob 
jection.  It  is  said,  although  there  was  a  law  opening  this  poll,  and  although 
the  formalities  of  that  law  were  complied  with  in  almost  all  respects,  so  far 
as  the  opening  of  the  polls  was  concerned,  yet  the  one  most  important 
element  was  wanting— to  wit,  that  the  conductors  of  that  election  were  not 
sworn  to  open  and  conduct  an  election  for  a  member  of  Congress.  Is  that 
to  be  allowed  to  disfranchise  the  voter  ?  Was  that  his  fault  ?  Was  he  pre- 


96  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Jan.  1862 

sumed  to  even  know  whether  they  had  or  had  not  been  sworn  ?  And  if  he 
had  known  it,  what  remedy  had  he?  Is  it  to  be  used  to  defeat  him  of  his 
right  of  choice?  He  stands  there  a  Virginia  citizen.  He  stands  therein 
the  face  of  this  abominable  treason.  He  stands  there  with  the  solid  earth 
shaking  under  him,  and  he  cannot  shrink  behind  the  privacy  of  the  ballot. 
He  declares  with  loud  voice,  amid  the  opposing  elements,  that  he  votes  for 
Charles  H.  Upton,  for  Representative  in  Congress.  Was  he  a  qualified 
elector?  There  is  no  question  made  of  that.  There  was  no  oath  required 
of  him.  He  executed  the  formalities  under  color  and  pursuant  of  the  law  of 
the  State,  passed  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
you  cannot  permit  the  technical  disqualifications  of  any  officer  of  that  elec 
tion  to  rob  him  of  his  right.  You  cannot  disfranchise  his  district.  You 
cannot  alienate  the  territory.  You  cannot  throw  out  by  your  action,  with 
out  the  right  of  being  heard,  the  thousands  and  thousands  of  inhabitants 
who  are,  under  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  presumed  to  be  loyal  to  the 
Government. 

"  It  is  idle  to  stand  here  and  say  to  me  that  there  was  not  a  proper  return 
made.  A  majority  of  this  same  committee  reported  against  a  sitting  mem 
ber  and  for  a  contestant  deliberately  in  the  face  of  the  certificate  of  all  the 
returning  officers.  You  disregarded  the  forms  of  law.  You  went  back  to 
the  sanctuary  which  was  said  to  be  the  depository  of  the  ballots.  You  broke 
it  open,  rummaged  and  counted  them. 

"  Why  ?  Because  you  wanted  the  clearly  expressed  will  of  the  people  as 
they  actually  spoke,  and  not  as  they  had  been  made  to  speak." 

After  reciting  the  evidence,  Mr.  Riddle  proceeded  : 

"  These  were  the  witnesses  before  them,  and  the  committee  were  the  in 
quirers.  They  have  reported  these  facts,  but  they  say  that  the  proof  does 
not  rise  to  the  full  formality  which  would  be  required  for  the  admissibility 
of  testimony  on  the  part  of  this  plaintiff  or  sitting  member.  They  took  the 
affirmative.  This  copy  of  the  poll-book  is  produced,  and  the  officers  are 
produced,  who  swear  that  the  polls  were  opened.  No  question  is  made 
about  the  identity  or  the  correctness  of  that  poll-book.  It  is  not  said  by 
the  committee  that  it  is  not  a  copy  of  a  poll-book.  It  is  not  said  that  those 
votes  were  not  cast  as  represented  ;  but  it  is  said,  to  the  shame  and  con 
fusion  of  the  committee,  I  submit,  in  view  of  their  solemn  duties,  that  this 
plaintiff  has  not  yet  produced  the  full  measure  of  proof  that  the  votes  were 
cast.  There  is  not  a  man  living  who  will  read  that  report  who  will  not 
come  to  the  conclusion,  unshaken  by  the  presence  of  a  doubt,  that  these 
votes  were  so  cast  as  claimed. 

"But  these  gentlemen,  not  quite  content  with  the  resolution  which  they 
have  reported  to  us,  have  added  a  sort  of  drizzling  after-birth.  They  query, 
even  if  the  ten  votes  were  given,  whether  the  paucity  of  votes  would  not  de- 


Jan.  1862]        THE   LEHMAN  AND   UPTON  CASES.  97 

feat  the  election,  but  do  not  claim  that  it  would.  They  say  that  it  was  not 
generally  known  in  the  district  that  Charles  H.  Upton  was  a  candidate  for 
Congress  on  that  occasion.  Admit  that  it  was  not.  In  Virginia  a  plurality 
elects.  Suppose  that  you  had  a  thousand  candidates,  and  that  nine  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  of  them  received  ten  votes  each,  and  the  thousandth  re 
ceived  eleven,  would  the  gentlemen  stand  here  and  contend  that  the  man 
with  the  eleven  votes  was  not  regularly  elected,  even  though  it  was  not 
generally  known  that  he  was  a  candidate  ?  To  sustain  the  validity  of  the 
election  supposed,  is  there  any  more  force  to  be  given  to  the  votes  which 
were  cast  against  the  man  who  received  the  eleven  than  there  would  have 
been  if  they  had  been  withheld  ?  Does  voting  against  a  man  contribute 
more  to  his  election  than  not  voting  at  all  ? 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  said  all  that  I  care  to  say.  I  submit,  in  the  first 
place,  that  by  the  record  the  sitting  member  is  entitled  to  his  seat, — con 
clusively  so.  I  say  that  he  is  only  to  be  excluded  by  a  vote  expelling  him, 
which  requires  two  thirds  of  the  House.  I  say,  beyond  that,  that  the  con 
clusion  is  inevitable  from  the  facts,  that  he  was  legally  and  constitutionally 
elected.  I  hope,  therefore,  that  the  resolution  reported  by  the  committee 
will  be  rejected.  Whether  any  of  the  qualified  voters  of  the  district  at 
tended  on  behalf  of  the  people  under  cover  of  law  and  did  exercise  the 
elective  franchise  upon  the  day  named  in  the  unrepealed  law  of  the  State  of 
Virginia,  is  the  question.  If  so,  I  insist  upon  it  that  this  House  must  give 
effect  to  that  election. 

"  It  is  conceded  that  the  23d  of  May,  1861,  was  the  day  designated  by  the 
laws  of  the  State  of  Virginia  for  the  election  of  members  of  Congress.  It  is 
conceded  that  the  State  of  Virginia  could  not  and  did  not  secede  from  the 
Union  so  as  to  have  the  least  legal  or  constitutional  effect  upon  any  of  the 
citizens  of  that  State.  It  is  conceded  that  on  the  day  of  the  election  an 
election  was  holden  at  the  precinct  of  Ball's  Cross  Roads.  It  is  in  proof 
that  the  State  authorities  did  formally  at  that  place  open  an  election  for  a 
member  of  Congress.  .  .  ." 

Mr.  Sheffield,  an  able  lawyer,  succeeded  him  for  the 
committee.  Among  other  things  he  said  : 

"  An  election  implies  a  free  choice  ;  the  district  must  submit  to  the  Con 
stitution  and  laws,  either  voluntarily  or  by  force  of  our  armies,  before  they 
can  be  entitled  to  be  represented  here.  If  we  undertake  to  permit  a  repre 
sentation  of  a  part  of  a  district,  what  part  are  we  to  take  ?  Can  any  man 
who  can  stand  upon  twelve  inches  square  of  ground  in  the  district,  and  who 
is  a  loyal  man,  and  who  says  that  he  represents  the  district,  be  admitted  ? 
Or,  if  not  twelye  inches,  how  much  ? 

"  You  may  say  that  it  is  hard  upon  the  loyal  men  of  a  district  that  they 
should  suffer  in  consequence  of  the  disloyalty  of  certain  persons  in  that  dis- 


98  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Jan,  1862 

trict,  but  it  is  inseparable  from  all  human  institutions  and  affairs  that  the 
innocent  shall  suffer  with  the  guilty.  The  innocent  child  suffers  with  the 
convicted  father.  The  innocent  kinsman  suffers  with  the  guilty  kinsman. 
Under  the  old  common  law  the  crimes  of  the  individual,  unless  the  hundred 
purged  itself,  were  visited  upon  the  hundred.  The  inhabitants  were  to 
maintain  order  within  the  hundred  and  protect  the  rights  of  the  people  and 
of  the  public  ;  and  if  they  did  not,  the  crime  was  upon  the  hundred.  And 
it  is  not  for  us  to  say  that  there  was  not  some  justice  in  it.  In  what  part  of 
the  district  do  the  loyal  people  of  the  district  reside  ?  How  are  we  to  de 
cide  that  question  ?  How  is  it  to  be  determined  that  there  were  not  as  loyal 
people  in  other  parts  of  the  7th  District  of  Virginia  as  those  ten  that  met 
at  Ball's  Cross  Roads  ?  There  are  as  true  and  loyal  men  all  through  the 
South  to-day,  who  are  overborne  in  disloyal  neighborhoods,  as  there  are 
upon  this  floor  or  anywhere  in  the  country.  There  are  to-day  in  the  State 
of  South  Carolina  as  true  and  loyal  men,  and  men  as  devoted  to  the  old  Con 
stitution  and  the  old  flag,  as  there  are  anywhere  in  this  country.  These  men 
need  our  sympathy,  and  the  same  claim  upon  our  justice,  as  the  men  who 
held  this  informal  election  at  Ball's  Cross  Roads.  But  it  is  impossible  in 
human  affairs  to  administer  exact  justice.  All  human  institutions  and 
all  human  actions  partake  of  the  imperfections  incident  to  the  human 
character. 

"  Now  it  seems  to  me  that  the  only  principle  which  we  can  adopt  in  re 
gard  to  this  matter  is  to  require  that  a  whole  district  shall  be  subjected  to 
the  law  and  Constitution  before  it  shall  be  entitled  to  be  represented  upon 
this  floor.  Policy  dictates  it  as  well  as  right  principle.  We  must  inspire  the 
ambitious  men  in  every  district,  if  we  can,  to  assist  in  putting  down  this 
rebellion,  to  assist  with  their  friends,  and  thereby  to  make  a  claim  upon  the 
loyalty  of  their  districts  to  entitle  them  to  the  consideration  of  being  selected 
by  their  loyal  friends  to  represent  them  in  the  Congress  of  the  nation.  I 
say,  then,  that  policy  coincides  with  what  seems  to  me  to  be  the  justice  of 
the  matter." 

Mr.  Sedgwick  made  an  able  argument,  sustaining  Mr. 
Riddle's  positions. 

Charles  Delano  spoke  at  length  and  forcibly  on  the 
same  side,  as  did  Mr.  Harrison  of  Ohio,  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  of  the  many  good  lawyers  of  the  House.  I 
can  give  only  his  concluding  sentences,  most  effectually 
delivered  : 

"  My  views  of  this  case  require  me  to  give  the  gentleman  from  Virginia 
the  benefit  of  all  reasonable  presumptions.  Giving  him  the  benefit  of  those 
presumptions,  and  as  he  has  been  admitted  to  a  seat  upon  the  floor,  and  as 


Jan.  1862]        THE   LEHMAN  AND   UPTON  CASES.  99 

I  do  not  think  the  gentleman  who  undertakes  to  contest  his  seat  by  virtue 
of  an  election  held  several  months  after  that  at  which  the  sitting  member 
was  elected,  is  entitled  to  make  such  a  contest — unless  the  gentleman  who 
will  close  this  debate  shall  convince  me  that  I  am  wrong  in  the  premises 
upon  which  I  predicate  my  conclusion — I  shall  cast  my  vote,  not  to  admit 
the  gentleman  from  Virginia,  but  that  he  shall  retain  the  seat  he  already 
occupies.  Not  a  single  Congressional  district  in  the  United  States,  in  which 
there  are  a  sufficient  number  of  loyal  voters  to  choose  a  true  Union  member 
of  Congress,  and  who  exercise  that  choice  at  the  time  and  substantially  in  the 
manner  prescribed  by  law,  shall,  by  any  vote  of  mine,  go  unrepresented  in 
this  House." 


Mr.  Loomis,  of  the  committee,  replied  at  length,  and 
Mr.  Dawes,  the  chairman,  closed,  replying  particularly  to 
Mr.  Harrison  and  generally  to  others.  His  argument,  as 
all  of  his  were,  was  clear  and  strong.  There  will  be  a 
space  for  him  elsewhere.  He  demanded  the  previous 
question. 

Mr.  Bingham,  chairman  of  the  Judiciary,  demanded  to 
be  heard  for  Upton,  but  Dawes  refused  to  withdraw  his 
demand,  which  was  sustained  by  the  House. 

Mr.  Riddle  moved  to  strike  out  the  word  "  not,"  so  that 
the  resolution  would  affirm  Upton's  right  to  his  seat,  and 
demanded  the  yeas  and  nays.  The  result  was  fifty  to 
strike  out  and  seventy-three  to  retain — and  this  struck 
Mr.  Upton  out  of  the  House.  The  members  voted  with 
out  reference  to  parties,  and  the  lawyers  fairly  divided. 

Perhaps  no  case  was  more  thoroughly  discussed ;  cer 
tainly  none  was  ever  more  fundamentally  considered.  It 
was  thus  that  the  majority  thrust  from  the  House  a  legal 
representative,  because  the  United  States  had  so  flagrantly 
failed  in  its  duty  to  protect  the  loyal  people  of  his  district 
that  a  general  poll  was  impossible  in  it,  thereby  leaving 
an  ineffaceable  stigma  on  the  brow  of  the  Republic. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 

JANUARY-FEBRUARY,  1862. 

National  Banks — Father  of  Greenbacks — Secretary  Chase — A  Great 
Debate  in  the  House. 

IT  is  remembered  that  we  had  at  this  time,  along  and 
within  the  northern  borders  of  the  rebel  States,  over  half 
a  million  soldiers,  with  hundreds  of  thousands  more  being 
enrolled,  mustered  in,  sent  forward,  or  already  in  camps 
and  barracks  at  home.  To  sustain  these  men,  to  pay  and 
clothe  them,  and  to  supply  the  awful  waste  of  war,  was 
one  of  the  sorest  problems  thrust  upon  a  Congress  which 
had  been  elected  to  deal  with  current  affairs  in  time  of 
peace.  It  was  understood  that  the  current  army  expenses 
alone  amounted  to  $1,500,000  per  day. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  the  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Boston  banks  came  forward  and 
offered  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  Chase,  $150,- 
000,000  in  gold.  This  was  about  equal  to  the  available 
specie  of  the  United  States  at  that  time,  the  bank  circula 
tion  being  a  fraction  over  $200,000,000 ;  and  we  are  to 
recollect  that  the  sub-Treasury  of  1846  was  the  Govern 
ment's  fiscal  agency.  Specie  alone  was  there  received, 
deposited,  and  disbursed.  One  of  the  loan  bills  of  July 
authorized  a  suspension  of  the  sub-Treasury  law,  and  the 

ICO 


Jan, -Feb.  1862]        THE   WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES.        IOI 

Secretary  was  empowered  to  select  and  use  State  banks. 
Mr.  Chase  believed  in  hard  money ;  he  eschewed  checks 
and  bank-notes.  The  result  was  that  the  $150,000,000 
bank  loan  exhausted  the  specie  reserves,  which,  being 
paid  out  at  points  remote  from  money  centres  and 
channels,  could  not  be  returned  in  time  to  keep  the 
banks  firm  ;  and  when  we  arrived  in  Washington,  after 
the  half-holidays,  it  was  to  find  all  the  banks  suspended — 
sub-Treasury  and  all.  The  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
of  the  House  were  Stevens,  Morrill,  Phelps,  Corning,  Hor- 
ton,  Spaulding,  Stratton,  Hooper,  and  Maynard  ;  of  the 
Senate,  were  Fessenden,  Simmons,  Howe,  Pearce,  Bright, 
and  McDougal.  The  House  sub-Committee  on  Banks  and 
Currency  were  Spaulding,  "  father  of  the  greenbacks," 
Hooper,  who  succeeded  Appleton,  resigned,  and  Corning. 
The  last  named  formulated  a  bill  to  issue  $50,000,000  de 
mand  Treasury  notes,  in  sums  not  less  than  $5,  on  the 
credit  of  the  United  States,  receivable  for  all  dues  to  the 
Government,  payable  nowhere,  and  a  legal  tender  for  all 
possible  debts.  When  reported  to  the  House  the  amount 
was  increased  to  $100,000,000,  to  be  paid  in  the  twenty- 
years'  United  States  six  per  cent,  bonds,  the  interest  upon 
which  was  to  be  paid  in  coin.  Morrill,  Horton,  and  Cor 
ning  were  active  opponents  of  the  bill,  and  Stevens  came 
into  the  measure  finally.  Mr.  Chase,  who  had  in  his  report 
recommended  the  national-bank  scheme,  opposed  the  legal- 
tender  feature,  which  was  the  main  source  of  contention. 
Mr.  Chase  thought  his  plan  of  national  banks  would  afford 
relief.  As  drawn,  it  had  sixty  sections — obviously  even 
McClellan  could  hardly  wait  for  this  as  a  relief  measure. 

There  was  a  notable  gathering  of  bank  presidents, 
among  them  a  son  of  the  great  Gallatin,  whom  our  com 
mittee  met  at  the  Treasury  Department  with  Mr.  Chase, 
but  beyond  a  thorough  discussion  (not  reported)  nothing 
came  of  it,  and  we  were  left  in  the  House  to  our  own  de 
vices,  and  to  the  suggestions  of  the  press. 


IO2  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR  TIMES.        \ Jan,  1862- 

Mr.  Spaulding,  a  very  able  man,  opened  the  debate  on 
the  above  bill  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  Jan.  21,  1862. 
His  speech  covers  five  or  six  pages  of  the  three-column 
quarto  Globe,  and  was  clear,  exhaustive,  and  generally  sat 
isfactory.  He  estimated  the  debt  at  the  end  of  the  fiscal 
year,  July  I,  1862,  at  $650,000,000.  If  the  war  continued, 
at  $1,200,000,000  by  July  I,  1863.  The  census  returns  of 
1860  showed  a  valuation  of  private  property  of  $16,159,- 
616,068 — more  than  double  that  of  1850.  For  my  readers 
I  give  his  luminous  statement  of  the  financial  conditions. 

Mr.  SPAULDING — "  Mr.  Chairman,  this  is  an  important  measure,  and  I 
may  be  indulged  for  a  few  moments  in  explaining  its  objects,  the  situation 
of  our  finances,  and  the  grounds  upon  which  we  rest  this  measure  and  ex 
pect  it  to  be  adopted.  In  the  first  place  I  will  refer  to  the  loan  bills  passed 
at  the  extra  session  of  Congress,  in  July,  in  order  to  show  how  we  obtained 
the  means  to  carry  on  the  Government  from  that  time  to  the  present,  and  to 
show  how  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  has  performed  his  duty.  These 
bills  were  passed — the  first  on  the  I7th  of  July,  and  the  other  on  the  5th  of 
August.  They  gave  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  power  to  pledge  the 
credit  of  the  United  States  to  the  extent  of  $250,000,000.  Reflections  have 
been  made  by  some  gentlemen  on  the  manner  in  which  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  had  performed  his  duty  in  borrowing  that  money,  and  with  some 
disposition  to  criticise  his  actions.  As  a  general  reply,  I  will  say  that  the 
Secretary  has  acted  in  strict  conformity  with  the  law,  and  has  borrowed 
money  at  the  rates  authorized  by  Congress. 

"And,  sir,  I  am  disposed,  upon  this  floor  and  elsewhere,  to  sustain  the 
Secretary  and  all  Departments  of  the  Government  when  they  have  dis 
charged  their  duties  in  accordance  with  the  laws  which  have  been  passed  by 
us. 

"  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  first  borrowed  $100,000,000,  giving 
Treasury  notes  bearing  seven  and  three-tenths  per  cent,  interest,  and  he 
next  issued  United  States  bonds  at  six  per  cent,  interest  to  the  extent  of 
$50,000,000,  at  the  equivalent  of  par  for  seven  per  cent,  bonds,  and  raised 
about  $44,650,000  ;  upon  such  loan  a  discount  of  over  $5,300,000  was  sus 
tained.  They  were  the  best  terms  that  could  be  obtained,  and  were  re 
garded  at  the  time  as  very  favorable  to  the  Government.  But  if  he  has 
borrowed  the  money  at  a  high  rate,  it  was  authorized  by  the  act  of  July.  I 
am  disposed  to  sustain  the  Secretary  in  what  he  has  done.  He  has  acted  in 
good  faith,  and  he  should  be  sustained  by  us  all. 

"  I  may  here  be  permitted  to  say,  in  explanation  of  some  of  the  estimates 
which  I  shall  introduce  presently,  differing,  as  they  do,  from  the  estimates 


Feb.  1862]        THE   WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES.  IO3 

of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  his  annual  report,  that  since  his  annual 
report  he  has  changed  his  own  views  as  to  what  the  expenses  of  the  war  will 
be  up  to  July  next,  and  what  they  will  also  be  up  to  July,  1863,  and  that 
he  substantially  agrees  with  me  now  as  to  what  these  expenses  will  be.  In 
the  discussion  of  this  important  measure  I  desire,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  present 
the  entire  plan,  with  a  view  to  enlist  the  co-operation,  not  only  of  all  De 
partments  of  the  Government,  but  also  the  co-operation  of  all  the  members 
of  the  House,  without  regard  to  party  distinctions.  Hearty  co-operation  is 
desirable  to  the  success  of  the  important  financial  measures  that  will  be 
presented. 

"  Our  finances  deserve  our  most  serious  attention.  The  ways  and  means 
of  carrying  on  the  war  should  enlist  the  grave  consideration  of  every  gentle 
man  on  this  floor  who  desires  the  preservation  of  this  Government.  We  were 
never  in  greater  peril  than  at  this  moment.  It  will  require  all  our  best  ener 
gies  successfully  to  meet  the  crisis  through  which  we  are  passing.  I  am 
oppressed  by  the  magnitude  of  the  work  before  us.  But,  sir,  I  will  not,  I 
dare  not — I  trust  we  shall  not  any  of  us — shrink  from  the  responsibility  of 
performing  every  duty  devolved  upon  us  in  this  great  crisis  of  our  national 
affairs. 

"  The  bill  before  us  is  a  war  measure — a  measure  of  necessity,  and  not  of 
choice — presented  by  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  to  meet  the  most 
pressing  demands  upon  the  Treasury,  to  sustain  the  army  and  navy  until 
they  can  make  a  vigorous  advance  upon  the  traitors,  and  crush  out  the  re 
bellion.  These  are  extraordinary  times,  and  extraordinary  measures  must 
be  resorted  to  in  order  to  save  our  Government  and  preserve  our  nation 
ality. 

"  This  bill,  in  addition  to  the  $50,000,000  of  demand  notes,  authorized  by 
the  act  of  July  last,  authorizes  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  issue,  on  the 
credit  of  the  United  States,  $100,000,000  of  Treasury  notes,  not  bearing  in 
terest,  payable  to  the  bearer  at  the  Treasury,  or  at  the  office  of  the  Assistant 
Treasurer  in  the  city  of  New  York,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  such  denominations  as  he  may  deem  expedient,  not  less  than  $5 
each  ;  and  such  notes,  and  all  other  United  States  notes  payable  on  demand, 
not  bearing  interest,  heretofore  authorized,  are  made  receivable  for  all  debts 
and  demands  due  to  the  United  States,  and  for  all  salaries,  debts,  and  de 
mands  owing  by  the  United  States  to  individuals,  corporations,  and  associa 
tions  within  the  United  States,  and  are  also  declared  lawful  money  and  a 
legal  tender  in  payment  of  all  debts,  public  and  private,  within  the  United 
States,  making  altogether  $150,000,000  legal-tender  demand  notes. 

"  Provision  is  also  made  for  the  convenient  exchange  of  such  notes  for 
six  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  United  States,  redeemable  in  twenty  years. 

"  Further,  to  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  fund  the  Treasury 
notes  and  floating  debt  of  the  United  States,  he  is  authorized  to  issue,  on 
the  credit  of  the  United  States,  coupon  bonds  or  registered  bonds  to  an 
amount  not  exceeding  $500,000,000,  and  redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  the 


104  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.        [Jan.  1862- 

Government  after  twenty  years  from  date,  and  bearing  interest  at  the  rate 
of  six  per  cent,  per  annum,  payable  semi-annually  ;  and  the  bonds  thus 
authorized  are  to  be  of  such  denomination,  not  less  than  fifty  dollars,  a& 
may  be  determined  upon  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  or  in  sums  of 
not  less  than  $2,500,  for  which,  if  requested,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
if  he  deem  it  expedient,  may  issue  similar  bonds,  the  principal  and  interest 
of  which  may  be  expressed  in  the  currency  of  any  foreign  country,  and 
payable  there.  The  Secretary  is  authorized  to  issue  said  bonds  at  their  par 
value  to  any  creditor  or  creditors  of  the  United  States  who  may  elect  to 
receive  them  in  satisfaction  of  their  demands,  provided  that  all  such  claims 
or  demands  shall  have  been  first  audited  and  settled  by  the  proper  account 
ing  officers  of  the  Treasury  ;  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may  also 
exchange  such  bonds  at  any  time  for  lawful  money  of  the  United  States,  or 
for  any  of  the  Treasury  notes  that  have  been  or  may  hereafter  be  issued  un 
der  any  former  act  of  Congress,  or  that  may  be  issued  under  the  provisions 
of  this  act. 

"  The  bill  is  simple  and  perspicuous  in  its  terms,  and  easy  of  execution. 
It  is  a  Government  measure,  and  the  officers  of  Government  are  required  to 
execute  its  provisions. 

"  By  the  time  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  can  get  these  notes  engraved, 
printed,  and  signed  ready  for  use,  all  other  available  means  at  his  command 
and  in  the  Treasury  will  be  exhausted.  This  measure  is  therefore  presented 
under  the  highest  prerogatives  of  Government.  The  army  and  navy 
now  in  the  service  must  be  paid.  They  must  be  supplied  with  food,  cloth 
ing,  arms,  ammunition,  and  all  other  materials  of  war,  to  render  them 
effective  in  maintaining  the  Government  and  putting  down  the  rebellion. 
Having  exhausted  other  means  of  sustaining  the  Government,  this  measure 
is  brought  forward  as  the  best  that  can  be  devised,  in  the  present  exigency, 
to  relieve  the  necessities  of  the  Treasury,  and  I  trust  it  will  pass  without 
delay. 

"At  the  extra  session  in  July  last  Congress  authorized  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  to  borrow  $250,000,000,  for  which  he  was  authorized  to  issue 
coupon  bonds,  or  registered  bonds,  or  Treasury  notes,  in  such  proportions 
of  each  as  he  might  deem  advisable.  The  bonds  were  to  be  issued  for 
twenty  years  at  a  rate  not  exceeding  seven  per  cent,  interest  per  annum, 
payable  half-yearly  ;  and  the  Treasury  notes  were  to  be  issued  in  denomina 
tions  of  not  less  than  $50  each,  at  three  years,  with  interest  at  seven  and 
three-tenths  per  annum,  payable  half-yearly,  and  exchangeable  at  any  time  for 
twenty-years'  six  per  cent,  bonds.  Or,  at  the  option  of  the  Secretary,  he  was 
permitted  to  issue  $50,000,000  of  the  above  loan  in  Treasury  notes,  on  de 
mand,  in  denominations  of  not  less  than  $5  each  without  interest,  and  made 
receivable  in  payment  of  salaries  or  other  dues  owing  by  the  United  States ;  or, 
in  his  discretion,  he  was  authorized  to  issue  Treasury  notes  at  one  year,  bear 
ing  interest  at  three  and  sixty-five  hundredths  per  cent,  per  annum,  exchange 
able  at  any  time  in  sums  of  $100  or  upwards  for  the  three-years  Treasury 


Feb.  1862]       THE   WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES.  IO$ 

notes  bearing  seven  and  three-tenths  per  cent,  interest,  but  in  aggregate  not 
to  exceed  $250,000,000.  A  further  provision,  however,  was  made,  to  wit  : 
that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  might  negotiate  any  part  of  the  loan  for 
six  per  cent,  twenty-years'  bonds  at  a  rate  not  less  than  the  equivalent  of  par 
for  bonds,  bearing  seven  per  cent,  interest  per  annum  half-yearly,  payable  in 
twenty  years . " 

He  placed  before  the  House  the  opinion  of  Attorney- 
General  Bates,  that  under  the  Constitution  and  under  the 
condition  of  war  we  might  issue  legal-tender  notes,  and  he 
quoted  Marshall,  Webster,  and  Kent,  all  Federalists,  upon 
the  extent  of  national  power.  He  then  concluded  : 

"  My  own  impression  is,  that  it  will  be  best  for  us  to  adopt,  in  part,  all 
o',  these  modes  for  providing  the  means. 

''  i.  Raise  by  taxation  the  current  year,  over  and  above  the  amount  re- 
cered  for  duties  on  imports,  the  sum  of  $150,000,000. 

"2.  Issue  $100,000,000  of  demand  Treasury  notes  in  addition  to  the 
$500000,000  authorized  in  July,  making  them  a  legal  tender  in  payment  of 
debts  and  exchangeable  at  any  time  for  six  per  cent,  twenty-years'  bonds, 
with  ,  further  issue  of  demand  notes  if  Congress  shall  hereafter  deem  it 
necessoy. 

"  3-  Provide  for  the  issue  of  all  the  twenty-years'  six  per  cent,  bonds  that 
may  be  -accessary  to  fund  the  demand  Treasury  notes,  and  other  fundable 
Treasurjnotes  that  may  be  issued  (say  $500,000,000  six  per  cent,  twenty- 
years'  coupon  bonds),  and  pledge  $30,000,000  of  the  annual  tax  to  pay  the 
interest  h^f .yearly  thereon,  and  pledge  $25,000,000  more  as  a  sinking  fund 
to  redeem  he  principal  in  twenty  years. 

"4.  Thittax  of  $150,000,000  would  afford  an  ample  basis  on  which  to 
rest  the  creot  of  the  Government  for  this  large  issue  of  Treasury  notes  and 
bonds,  and  \^uld  insure  the  punctual  payment  of  the  interest  to  the  capi 
talists  who  imht  hold  them. 

"5.  The  demand  notes  put  in  circulation  would  meet  the  present  exigen 
cies  of  the  GOernment,  in  the  discharge  of  its  existing  liabilities  to  the 
army,  navy,  antcontractors,  and  for  supplies,  materials,  and  munitions  of 
war.  These  no>s  would  find  their  way  into  all  the  channels  of  trade 
among  the  peopU  and  as  they  should  accumulate  in  the  hands  of  capitalists 
they  would  exchabe  them  for  the  six  per  cent,  twenty-years'  bonds. 

"  These  circulatjg  notes  in  the  hands  of  the  people  would  enable  them  to 
pay  the  taxes  iinpoij,  and  W0uld  facilitate  all  business  operations  between 
farmers,  mechanics, •ommercial  business  men,  and  banks,  and  be  equally  as 
good  as,  and  in  moscases  better  than,  the  present  irredeemable  circulation 
issued  by  the  banks. 


106  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Jan.  1862- 

"6.  The  $500,000,000  six  per  cent,  twenty-years'  bonds  in  the  hands 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  ready  to  be  issued,  would  afford  ample 
-opportunity  for  funding  the  Treasury  notes  as  fast  as  capitalists  might  de 
sire  to  exchange  Treasury  notes  not  bearing  interest  for  coupon  bonds  of  the 
United  States  bearing  six  per  cent,  interest,  and  amply  secured  by  a  tax 
upon  the  people  and  all  their  property. 

"  In  this  way  the  Government  will  be  able  to  get  along  with  its  immediate 
and  pressing  necessities,  without  being  obliged  to  force  its  bonds  on  the 
market  at  ruinous  rates  of  discount,  the  people  under  heavy  taxation  will  be 
shielded  against  high  rates  of  interest,  and  the  capitalists  will  be  afforded  a 
fair  compensation  for  the  use  of  their  money  during  the  pending  struggle  of 
the  country  for  national  existence. 

"  A  suspension  of  specie  payments  is  greatly  to  be  deplored,  but  it  is  no. 
a  fatal  step  in  an  exigency  like  the  present.  The  British  Government  anl 
the  Bank  of  England  remained  under  suspension  from  1797  to  1821-22, 
a  period  of  twenty-five  years.  During  this  time,  England  successfully  .'e- 
sisted  the  imperial  power  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  and  preserved  her  <wn 
imperial  existence.  As  a  measure  of  necessity,  she  made  the  Bank  of  tng- 
land  notes  virtually  a  legal  tender  by  suspending  the  specie  restri'tion. 
During  all  this  time  the  people  of  Great  Britain  advanced  in  wealth,  p-pula- 
tion,  and  resources.  Gold  is  not  as  valuable  as  the  productions  of  the  armer 
and  mechanic,  for  it  is  not  as  indispensable  as  are  food  and  raiment  Our 
army  and  navy  must  have  what  is  far  more  valuable  to  them  than  fold  and 
silver.  They  must  have  food,  clothing,  and  the  material  of  war.  treasury 
notes  issued  by  the  Government,  on  the  faith  of  the  whole  people,  will  pur 
chase  these  indispensable  articles,  and  the  war  can  be  prosecute-  until  we 
can  enforce  obedience  to  the  Constitution  and  laws,  and  an  honoable  peace 
be  thereby  secured.  This  being  accomplished,  I  will  be  amon.  the  first  to 
advocate  a  speedy  return  to  specie  payments,  and  all  measures  hat  are  cal 
culated  to  preserve  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  Government  in  time  of 
peace,  and  which  I  regret  are  not  practicable  in  the  prose^tion  of  this 
war. 

"  I  do  not  despair ;  on  the  contrary,  I  have  an  abiding  fain  in  th»  patriot 
ism,  firmness,  and  resources  of  the  people  to  maintain  this  ioven  .^nent.  I 
feel  that  we  are  in  great  peril ;  but  when  the  people  and  or  ruler ^  become 
sufficiently  aroused  to  fully  appreciate  the  magnitude  and  >robable  duration 
of  the  rebellion — a  rebellion  that  has  grown  into  most  gigAtic  proportions — 
then  shall  we  be  able  to  put  forth  the  energy  and  the  leans  necessary  to 
crush  it. 

"  An  early  and  successful  advance  of  our  armies  is  of  the  utmost  im 
portance  ;  we  need  such  an  advance  to  sustain  the  Aancial  credit  of  the 
Government ;  we  need  it  to  prevent  foreign  intension  ;  we  need  it  to 
arouse  the  flagging  energies  of  the  people ;  and,  ab^e  all,  we  need  it  to 
vindicate  the  courage  and  invincibility  of  our  bra*  soldiers,  who  are  so 
anxious  to  be  led  on  to  victory." 


Feb.  1862]        THE   WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES.  IO/ 

Mr.  Vallandigham  moved  a  substitute,  which,  as  a 
whole,  preserved  the  important  provisions  of  the  scheme 
of  the  Spaulding  bill. 

Very  early  the  legal-tender  provision  was  made  the 
point  about  which  the  tide  of  debate  ran  and  surged  in 
the  House.  This  was  especially  the  theme  for  Mr. 
Pendleton's  able  and  exhaustive  speech  in  reply  to  Mr. 
Spaulding,  at  once  lawyer-like  and  statesman-like.  He 
closed  thus : 

"Mr.  Webster  has  painted  most  felicitously  the  disastrous  results  to  fol 
low  from  this  same  course  of  conduct  : 

"  '  A  disordered  currency  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  political  evils.  It  under 
mines  the  virtues  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  social  system,  and  encour 
ages  propensities  destructive  of  its  happiness.  It  wars  against  industry, 
frugality,  and  economy  ;  and  it  fosters  the  evil  spirits  of  extravagance  and 
speculation.  Of  all  contrivances  for  cheating  the  laboring  classes  of  man 
kind,  none  has  been  more  effectual  than  that  which  deluded  them  with  paper 
money.  Ordinary  tyranny,  oppression,  excessive  taxation,  these  bear  lightly 
on  the  happiness  of  the  mass  of  the  community,  compared  with  fraudulent 
currencies,  and  the  robberies  committed  by  depreciated  paper.  Our  own 
history  has  recorded  for  our  instruction  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  of 
the  demoralizing  tendency,  the  injustice,  and  the  intolerable  oppression,  on 
the  virtuous  and  well  disposed,  of  a  degraded  paper  currency,  authorized  by 
law,  or  in  any  way  countenanced  by  Government.' — Webster's  Speeches,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  81. 

"  Can  we  not  learn  something  from  the  early  experience  of  our  country? 
Can  we  not  learn  something  from  the  overthrow  of  the  revolutionary  Govern 
ment  of  France  by  this  very  over-issue  of  depreciated  paper  ?  Can  we  not 
learn  something  from  those  throes  which  the  society  of  England  endured 
during  the  long  suspension  of,  and  at  its  return  to,  specie  currency  in  1822? 
Can  we  not  now  rise  to  a  wisdom  of  statesmanship  which  shall  control  the 
financial  necessities  of  the  country  without  plunging  it  into  that  gulf  from 
which  there  is,  with  honor  and  safety,  no  recovery  ? 

"  Sir,  I  beg  gentlemen  to  permit  me  to  read,  in  closing  what  I  have  to 
say,  one  more  lesson  of  wisdom  from  that  statesman  of  New  England,  to 
whom  I  have  had  occasion  so  often  already  to  refer.  I  read  it  with  the 
hope  that  it  will  be  engraven  on  the  memory  of  every  man  here,  and  that  it 
will  enable  us  to  avoid  the  evils  of  which  he  has  spoken  by  adhering  to  the 
course  which  he  has  wisely  marked  out  : 

"  '  No  nation  had  a  better  currency  than  the  United  States.  There  was 
no  nation  which  had  guarded  its  currency  with  more  care,  for  the  framers 
of  the  Constitution  and  those  who  had  enacted  the  early  statutes  on  the 


IO8  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES,        [Jan.  1862- 

subject  were  hard-money  men.  They  had  felt  and  duly  appreciated  the 
evils  of  a  paper  medium  ;  they  therefore  sedulously  guarded  the  currency 
of  the  United  States  from  debasement.  The  legal  currency  of  the  United 
States  was  gold  and  silver  coin.  This  was  a  subject  in  regard  to  which 
Congress  had  run  into  no  folly.  Gold  and  silver  currency  was  the  law  of 
the  land  at  home,  the  law  of  the  world  abroad  ;  there  could,  in  the  present 
condition  of  the  world,  be  no  other  currency.' 

"  Let  gentlemen  heed  this  lesson  of  wisdom.  Let  them,  if  need  be,  tax 
the  energies  and  wealth  of  the  country  sufficiently  to  restore  the  credit  of 
the  Government.  Let  them  borrow  whatever  money  in  addition  may  be 
necessary — borrow  it  to  the  full  extent  that  may  be  necessary — and  let  us 
adhere  rigidly,  firmly,  consistently,  persistently,  and  to  the  end,  to  the 
principle  of  refusing  to  surrender  that  currency  which  the  Constitution  has 
given  us,  and  in  the  maintenance  of  which  this  Government  has  never,  as 
yet,  for  one  moment  wavered." 

Mr.  Vallandigham  would  not  discuss  legal-tender  paper. 
He  thus  warned  against  inflation  : 

41  Nor  is  this  all,  nor  the  worst.  An  immense  inflation  or  bloat  in  this 
wonderful  paper  money  which  our  financial  Midas,  by  his  touch,  is  to  con 
vert  into  gold,  must  come  next.  Cheap  in  material,  easy  to  issue,  worked 
by  steam,  signed  by  machinery,  there  will  be  no  end  to  the  legions  of  paper 
devils  which  shall  pour  forth  from  the  loins  of  the  Secretary.  Sir,  let  the 
army  rejoice  ;  there  will  be  no  more  '  shoddy  '  for  there  will  be  no  more 
rags  out  of  which  to  manufacture  it. 

"  What  must  follow  from  all  this  ?  First,  that  which  never  has  failed  in 
times  of  bloated  currency — high  prices,  extravagant  speculation,  enormous 
sudden  fortunes,  immense  fictitious  wealth,  general  insanity.  These  be 
long  to  all  inordinate  and  excessive  paper  issues,  and  even  to  plethoras  in 
the  circulation  of  gold  and  silver,  if  such  plethoras  could  occur.  But  the 
evil  will  not  stop  here.  Every  banker,  every  lender,  every  merchant,  every 
business  man,  and  every  seller  of  real  or  personal  estate,  or  of  anything 
else,  compelled  to  receive  in  payment  for  whatever  he  lends  or  sells  an 
irredeemable  paper  money,  dependent  for  its  value  solely  upon  force,  and 
without  the  smallest  credit,  and  himself  having  no  confidence  in  the  Gov 
ernment,  and  no  special  good-will  to  the  borrower  or  buyer  who  forces  him 
to  take  its  paper,  will  demand  a  still  higher  price,  by  way  of  insurance, 
than  if  the  currency  were  sound  and  safe,  no  matter  how  much  inflated. 

"  And  now,  sir,  what  is  to  be  the  result  of  all  this?  What  else  but  the 
result  from  like  causes  in  years  past  in  foreign  countries  and  in  our  own  ? 
It  is  written  in  the  commercial  convulsions  and  sufferings  of  France  in 
1720,  and  in  England  a  century  later,  and  of  the  United  States  in  1837. 
The  collapse  follows  the  inflation,  and  is  terrible  and  disastrous  just  in  pro 
portion  as  the  bubble  has  been  magnificent.  Your  legal-tender  laws  will 


Feb.  1862]       THE   WAR   FINANCIAL   MEASURES.  1 09 

avail  nothing.  They  have  been  tried  before  ;  tried  in  this  country  and 
abroad  ;  and  have  always  failed  in  the  end.  The  regent  of  France  pro 
claimed  them  in  Law's  time,  in  1717,  and  what  followed  ?  Let  Mr.  Thiers 
answer  : 

"  'Violent  and  vexatious  as  the  measures  were  to  sustain  the  credit  of 
the  notes,  they  were  insufficient  to  give  them  a  value  which  they  did  not 
possess.  Dishonest  debtors  alone  used  them  to  pay  their  debts.  Coin  was 
secretly  used  for  daily  purchases,  and  was  concealed  with  care.  Many 
accumulated  it  clandestinely.  The  greater  part  buried  it  in  the  earth,  and 
the  rich  realizers  used  every  artifice  to  transfer  it  to  foreign  countries.  An 
other  portion  of  our  coin  left  France,  and  although  the  exportation  of  specie 
is  not  necessarily  injurious,  it  was  so  at  this  time,  since  it  left  behind  only  a 
false  paper  currency  and  an  imaginary  capital.' " 

Of  his  substitute  he  said  : 

"  But,  Mr.  Chairman,  the  fundamental  idea  of  this  substitute  is  to  sup 
port  and  float  these  $150,000,000  by  a  nearly  equal  amount  of  taxation  and 
revenue,  payable,  of  course,  in  these  notes.  The  Government  owes  the 
people  and  the  people  owe  the  Government,  each  $150,000,000,  and  these 
notes  are  primarily  to  be  used  as  a  common  medium  of  payment  between 
them.  Unquestionably  so  long  as  this  relation  of  mutual  debts  and  credits 
subsists  in  nearly  the  same  proportion,  these  notes  will  float  in  general  cir 
culation  and  in  payments  or  exchanges  or  other  commercial  and  business 
transactions  between  citizen  and  citizen,  erven  without  the  funding  clause  ; 
but  this  clause  is  essential  inasmuch  as  the  expenditures  of  the  Government 
very  greatly  exceed  the  $150,000,000,  and  because  the  debt  present  and 
future  is,  unhappily,  to  last  for  many  years  to  come.  But  these  notes  will 
have  this  advantage  over  bank  paper,  that  they  are  receivable  at  par  with 
gold  and  silver  in  payment  of  Government  dues,  while  it  is  not.  The  re 
fusal,  therefore,  of  the  banks  to  receive  and  circulate  them  will  avail  noth 
ing  to  depreciate  their  value,  since  their  credit  and  circulation  will  depend, 
not  on  bank  favor,  but  on  taxes  of  a  nearly  equal  amount,  which  must  be 
paid  at  all  events,  and  may  be  paid  in  these  same  notes.  They  will  thus 
be  beyond  the  reach  of  bull,  bear,  or  banker.  .  .  . 

"  Sir,  the  whole  amount  of  specie  and  bank  paper  actually  in  circulation 
in  the  United  States,  on  the  ist  of  May,  when  this  increase  began,  was 
about  $400,000,000,  of  which  amount  some  $300,000,000  were  in  the  States 
still  called  loyal.  Of  the  whole  amount,  the  Government  employed  in 
various  ways  $87,000,000,  leaving  $313,000,000  for  the  ordinary  commer 
cial  and  business  transactions  of  the  country  ;  of  which  amount  about 
$213,000,000  were  circulated  in  the  loyal  States.  Meantime  in  nine  months, 
though  one  third  of  the  States  have  seceded,  the  expenditures  and  opera 
tions  of  the  Government  have  gone  up  in  the  remaining  two  thirds  from 
$87,000,000  to  $600,000,000.  To  meet  this  immensely  increased  fiscal  action 


110  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Jan.  1862- 

we  have  but  $213,000,000  of  currency,  gold  and  silver,  and  bank  paper,  not 
including  the  $50,000,000  of  demand  notes  now  in  circulation." 

For  himself  he  concluded  thus  : 

"  Finally,  sir,  if  the  Committee  and  the  House  shall  proceed  upon  the 
principles  of  justice  and  sound  political  economy  which  have  been  hitherto 
observed  by  every  wise  Government,  and  above  all  by  this  Government  from 
the  beginning,  in  all  maintenance  of  its  credit  and  good  faith,  I  will  lend  a 
ready  and  an  earnest  support  to  every  measure  framed  in  conformity  with 
these  principles,  and  intended  and  calculated  to  build  up  and  to  sustain  the 
public  credit  and  good  faith.  Otherwise,  I  cannot  and  I  will  not  vote  to 
bring  down  upon  the  wretched  people  of  this  once  happy  and  prosperous 
country  the  triple  ruin  of  a  forced  currency,  enormous  taxation,  and  a 
public  debt  never  to  be  extinguished." 

This  was  February  3d.  Hooper,  manly  and  sincere, 
followed  Vallandigham  with  perhaps  the  clearest  state 
ment  of  the  triple  scheme  made  during  this  remarkable 
debate : 

41  To  insure  our  success  in  this  contest,  great  and  unusual  exertions  have 
already  been  made.  An  enormous  army,  a  powerful  navy,  with  vast  stores 
of  artillery  and  ammunition,  have  been  created.  In  providing  for  the  sus 
tenance,  comfort,  and  equipment  of  this  army  and  navy,  the  Government 
have  been  obliged  to  incur  expenses  far  exceeding  in  magnitude  any  which 
have  been  hereto  known  in  history.  To  continue  them  in  their  present 
state  of  efficiency,  large  additional  sums  must  be  expended  ;  and  it  now  be 
comes  the  duty  of  Congress  to  devise  methods  by  which  these  sums  can  be 
obtained  with  the  least  hardship  to  the  people  and  the  least  risk  to  the  credit 
of  the  Government.  .  .  . 

*'  Three  measures  have  been  considered  in  the  committee  which  are,  to 
some  extent,  connected  together,  and  form  a  comprehensive  system  by  which 
it  is  believed  the  Government  will  be  enabled  to  procure  the  sums  necessary 
to  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  war,  while  at  the  same  time  the  burden 
upon  the  capital  of  the  country  will  be  light,  and  the  public  will  be  bene 
fited  in  some  important  particulars. 

"  The  first  of  these  measures  is  the  one  now  before  the  House  by  which 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  authorized  to  issue  United  States  notes,  not 
to  exceed  $150,000,000  in  amount  (including  those  authorized  by  previous 
laws),  of  denominations  not  less  than  five  dollars.  They  are  rot  to  bear 
interest,  but  are  to  be  issued  and  received  as  money,  convertible,  at  the  op- 
tion  of  the  holder,  into  six  per  cent,  stock  of  the  United  States,  the  prin 
cipal  and  interest  being  payable  either  here  or  abroad  ;  and  these  notes  are 
to  be  a  legal  tender. 


Feb.  1862]        THE   WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES.  Ill 

"  The  second  measure  consists  of  a  tax  bill,  which  shall,  with  the  tariff 
on  imports,  insure  an  annual  revenue  of  at  least  $150,000,000. 

"  The  third  is  a  national  banking  law,  which  will  require  the  deposit  of 
United  States  stock  as  security  for  the  bank-notes  that  are  circulated  as 
currency.  .  .  . 

"  This  tax  bill  will  give  to  the  bonds  of  the  United  States  the  character 
so  much  desired  by  capitalists,  that  of  a  sure  interest-paying  security.  With 
such  a' character  there  would  be  no  harm  done  if  the  principal  were  never 
paid,  so  far  as  those  holding  the  bonds  are  concerned,  because  capitalists  in 
the  aggregate  do  not  care  for  the  payment  of  their  principal ;  the  only  value 
which  they  place  upon  the  capital  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  it  will  yield 
them  a  revenue  :  and  if  at  any  time  the  capitalist  should  wish  to  use  the 
principal  of  his  bond,  he  knows  that  he  can  always  sell  it  to  another  who 
desires  to  invest  as  much  as  he  desires  to  sell.  The  amount  of  debt  of  the 
British  Government  is  so  great  that  the  most  sanguine  political  economist 
can  devise  no  method  by  which  it  can  be  extinguished  ;  but  yet  the  bonds 
representing  that  very  debt  are  of  great  value.  Capital  seeks  them  for  in 
vestment  because  the  interes  is  sure  ;  and  the  only  reason  that  they  are  ever 
below  par  is,  not  because  the  payment  of  the  principal  is  more  or  less  hope 
less,  but  because  the  rates  of  interest  in  the  market  at  the  time  being  are 
higher  than  the  rate  provided  for  in  the  bonds. 

"  In  the  natural  course  of  trade  these  United  States  notes  will  continue 
to  be  transferred  from  one  to  another  until  they  come  into  the  hands  of  the 
banks  and  capitalists,  who  will  not  allow  them  to  remain  long  in  their  pos 
session.  Money  for  commercial  purposes  can  now  be  obtained  for  less  than 
five  per  cent.  Such  portion  thereof  of  the  '  United  States  notes,'  as  are 
not  needed  for  circulation,  and  cannot  be  used  in  regular  business  channels 
in  a  way  to  earn  interest,  will  be  returned  sooner  or  later  to  the  Treasury 
Department  to  be  converted  into  bonds  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six 
per  cent,  and  payable  in  twenty  years.  By  this  process  the  change  is  com 
pleted,  and  these  bonds  of  the  Government  will  thus  be  made  to  furnish  the 
supplies  required  to  carry  on  the  war  without  the  intervention  or  use  by  the 
Government  of  bank  paper.  .  .  . 

"  To  fail,"  concluded  Mr.  Hooper,  "would  not  be  because  the  nation 
was  so  poorly  endowed  as  to  be  without  the  means  of  success,  but  because  it 
refused  to  make  use  of  them.  Such  a  result,  if  it  were  possible,  would  not 
weaken  the  truth  of  the  great  principles  for  which  we  are  contending,  but 
would  simply  demonstrate  that  we,  of  this  generation,  were  faithless  in 
guarding  those  principles  ;  faithless  to  ourselves  ;  faithless  to  our  country  ; 
faithless  to  good  government  throughout  the  world  ;  and,  since  such  infi 
delity  is  a  violation  of  unquestionable  duty,  faithless  to  God." 

Mr.  Morrill  of  Vermont  said  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  engaged  as  I  have  been  upon  other  matters  of  at  least 
equal  importance,  I  have  not  had  the  time  to  prepare  any  elaborate  speech  ; 


112  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [ Jan.  1862- 

but  the  subject  of  issuing  $i  50,000,000  of  paper  currency  and  making  it  a  legal 
tender  by  the  Government  at  a  single  bound — the  precursor,  as  I  fear,  of  a 
prolific  brood  of  promises,  no  one  of  which  is  to  be  redeemed  in  the  consti 
tutional  standard  of  the  country — could  not  but  arrest  my  attention,  and, 
having  strong  convictions  of  the  impolicy  of  the  measure,  I  should  feel  that 
I  utterly  failed  to  discharge  my  duty  if  I  did  not  attempt  to  find  a  stronger 
prop  for  our  country  to  lean  upon  than  this  bill— a  measure  not  blessed  by 
one  sound  precedent,  and  damned  by  all. 

' '  Let  no  one  suppose  that  I  imagine  the  country  to  be  ruined,  however 
calamitous  I  might  regard  the  passage  of  this  bill — whether  one  particular 
measure  is  adopted  or  rejected.  This  Government  is,  thank  God  !  too 
strongly  entrenched  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  not  to  be  able  to  withstand 
more  than  one  disaster,  or  more  than  one  blunder.  But  it  is  a  time  when 
it  might  be  pardonable  morality  almost  to  say  that  '  a  blunder  is  worse 
than  a  crime.' 

"  We  are  urged  by  the  gentleman  from  New  York  to  pass  this  bill  as  '  a 
war  measure ' — '  a  measure  of  necessity '  ;  and  to  enforce  this  idea  he  gives 
you  the  figures  of  our  probable  requirements  if  the  war  should  be  prolonged 
until  July  I,  1863.  Sir,  I  have  no  expectation  of  being  required  to  support 
a  war  for  that  length  of  time.  The  ice  that  now  chokes  up  the  Mississippi 
is  not  more  sure  to  melt  and  disappear  with  the  approaching  vernal  season, 
than  the  rebellious  armies  upon  its  banks  when  our  western  army  shall 
break  from  its  moorings,  and,  rushing  with  the  current  to  the  Gulf,  baptize 
as  it  goes  in  blood  the  people  to  a  fresher  allegiance.  At  the  same  time  the 
men  of  the  East  will  only  ask  for  an  opportunity  to  cross  bayonets  with  the 
chivalry — to  leave  epithets  and  try  what  virtue  there  is  in  steel  !  That  hour 
is  approaching,  and  I  have  no  fear  of  the  result. 

"  '  Fly  swiftly  round,  ye  wheels  of  time  ! ' 

"  We  can  close  this  war  by  the  soth  day  of  July  next  as  well  as  in  thirty 
years.  Let  us  second  General  McClellan  for  '  a  short  and  sharp  '  conflict. 
By  so  doing  we  shall  economize  both  blood  and  Treasury  notes. 

"  At  the  last  session  of  Congress  we  unwisely,  as  I  thought,  raised  the 
pay  of  our  army  from  $10  to  $13  per  month,  as  though  our  men  could  be 
only  induced  to  espouse  the  cause  of  their  country  at  the  highest  wages, 
with  board  and  clothes  in  addition  ;  but  having  done  this,  shall  we  avoid 
the  contract  by  tendering  ninety  cents  or  less  on  the  dollar  ?  This  is  not 
the  true  way.  No— 

"  '  At  your  dessert  bright  pewter  comes  too  late, 

When  your  first  course  was  all  served  up  in  plate.' 

"If  it  must  be  so,  I  would  rather  say,  with  soldier-like  frankness: 
*  Officers  and  men  !  the  work  is  heavy  ;  you  have  prolonged  it  somewhat 
beyond  our  calculations,  and  the  monthly  drain  upon  the  Treasury  is  very 


Feb.  18621        THE   WAR   FINANCIAL   MEASURES.  113 

large.  We  shall  therefore  put  your  pay  at  the  old  mark,  but  we  will  not 
whittle  it  down  by  giving  you  anything  worth  less  than  a  hundred  cents  on 
the  dollar.'  " 

Roscoe  Conkling  followed : 

4 '  Gentlemen  have  longed  for  victories  to  reinvigorate  the  languishing 
energies  of  finance.  Victory  would  no  doubt  exert  a  potent  influence  ;  but, 
sir,  the  Treasury  will  control  and  decide  the  war,  not  the  war  the  Treasury. 
Indeed  the  question  of  money  and  credit  is  all  there  is  before  us  ;  it  is  prac 
tically  the  only  unsettled  question  of  the  war.  Armies  and  navies  may 
perish,  and  a  public  credit  well  preserved  can  replace  them  ;  but  if  the 
public  credit  perishes,  the  army  and  navy  only  increase  the  disaster  and 
deepen  the  dishonor. 

"  We  have  patriotism  and  courage  and  fighting  enough  to  crush  the  rebel 
lion  through  the  Union,  and  then  to  sweep  from  this  continent  every  occu 
pant  of  it  but  ourselves,  and  sponge  off  their  ships  from  our  waters.  We 
have  in  the  field  the  first  army  in  history,  the  first  means  to  conquer  with. 
It  is  said  that  in  181 1  Napoleon  had  1,100,000  men,  and  other  instances 
are  mentioned  of  exceeding  numbers  ;  but  nowhere  short  of  fabulous  nar 
rations  can  be  found  an  army  so  numerous  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  power 
ful  in  material,  so  complete  in  arms  and  equipments.  Nowhere  can  be 
found  an  army  so  well  paid  ;  nowhere  a  great  army  so  well  fed  and  cared 
for  ;  no  nation  has  ever  attempted  to  maintain  an  army  at  anything  like  the 
same  expense.  The  Secretary  of  War  says  that  718,512  men  have  taken 
the  field  ;  77,000  of  them  were  three-months'  men,  640,637  are  enlisted  for 
the  war.  We  have  eighty-three  regiments  of  cavalry  ;  eight  more  than 
France.  Every  one  of  this  multitude  of  soldiers  is  entitled  to  at  least 
thirteen  dollars  a  month,  besides  subsistence  and  bounties.  Sir,  there  is 
nothing  like  it  in  all  history.  No  nation  ever  attempted  it,  or  approached 
it ;  never  for  any  length  of  time.  I  find,  in  a  very  able  report  recently 
made  to  the  American  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society,  an  instructive 
statement  on  this  subject,  which  I  ask  my  colleague  to  read." 

Mr.  F.  A.  Conkling  read  as  follows : 

"  Upon  an  average  our  army,  on  a  peace  footing,  has  cost  us  $1,000 
annually  per  man,  rank  and  file.  In  the  war  in  which  we  are  now  engaged 
we  present  the  extraordinary  spectacle  of  an  army,  hardly  ever  before 
equalled  in  numbers,  hired  at  the  rate  of  wages  paid  to  able-bodied  men  in 
the  various  peaceful  avocations  from  which  they  were  drawn.  To  the  men 
in  the  ranks,  $13  per  month  are  paid,  with  their  food  and  clothing.  The 
soldier  in  the  French  army  receives  only  about  fifty-six  cents  a  month  ;  the 
pay  of  our  soldiers  being  twenty  times  greater.  The  estimate  in  the  French 
budget  for  1860,  was  345,908,744  francs,  or  $64,687,500,  for  an  army  on  a 


114  RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR   TIMES.        [Jan.  1862- 

war  footing  of  762,765  men  ;  and,  in  addition,  a  reserve  militia,  on  a  peace 
footing,  of  415,746  men.  We  all  know  that  the  maintenance  of  such  an 
army  has  created  serious  embarrassment  in  the  finances  of  the  Empire. 
They  have,  if  \ve  may  credit  foreign  journals,  completely  changed  the 
policy  of  the  Emperor.  It  costs  this  country  twelve  times  as  much  to  main 
tain  a  soldier  in  the  field  as  it  does  the  French  Government.  Our  forces 
now  under  arms  are,  consequently,  equivalent  to  7, 500,000  for  that  country. 
It  costs  us  two  and  a  half  times  as  much  to  maintain  a  soldier  as  it  does  the 
English  Government.  We  hire  our  money  at  twice  the  rate  of  interest. 
Our  expenditures  per  man,  measured  by  the  standard  of  interest  paid,  are 
on  a  scale  more  than  four  times  greater  than  for  that  country.  England 
can  expend  $1,200,000,000  a  year  without  creating  a  greater  burden  in  the 
shape  of  a  public  debt  than  $600,000,000  would  be  for  the  United  States." 

As  to  the  notes  to  be  issued  : 

"The  whole  scheme  presupposes  that  the  notes  to  be  emitted  will  be 
lepers  in  the  commercial  world  from  the  hour  they  are  brought  into  it ;  that 
they  will  be  shunned  and  condemned  by  the  laws  of  trade  and  value.  If 
this  is  not  to  be  their  fate,  what  is  the  sense,  as  was  said  in  the  Federal  Con 
stitutional  Convention,  in  attempting  to  legislate  their  value  up  ?  " 

These  extracts  from  their  speeches  will  hardly  do  jus 
tice  to  these  very  able  men.  Pendleton,  Vallandigham, 
and  others  had  quoted  from  Hamilton,  Marshall,  Web 
ster,  and  other  great  names.  Bingham,  having  the  floor, 
said  : 

"  I  am  here  to-day  to  assert  the  rightful  authority  of  the  American  peo 
ple  as  a  nationality,  a  sovereignty  under  and  by  virtue  of  their  Constitution. 
In  saying  that  the  people  of  this  Republic  are  one  people,  a  sovereignty,  I 
do  not  feel  that  I  shall  be  confronted  by  any  of  the  great  names  of  the 
illustrious  dead  who  have  suddenly  found  favor  with  gentlemen  upon  the 
other  side  of  the  House.  Living,  there  was  no  epithet  in  our  language  too 
severe  in  its  condemnation  or  too  much  uncharitable  in  its  import  for  the 
fit  denunciation  by  certain  parties  of  the  alleged  political  heresies  of  the 
illustrious  man,  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  that  other  illustrious  man, 
Daniel  Webster,  who  for  strength  of  intellect  stood  alone  among  the  living  ; 
and  now  dead,  in  his  honored  grave,  sleeps  alone  '  by  the  sounding  sea.'  I 
am  not  myself  of  that  class  of  admirers  who  prosecute  men  while  living,  and 
heap  tons  of  granite  and  pour  empty  adulation  upon  their  ashes  when  dead. 
I  prefer  to  respect  them  and  their  authority  while  they  stand  among  the  liv 
ing  men  of  to-day.  These  great  names  have  been  invoked  in  this  debate. 
For  what  purpose  ?  For  the  purpose  of  denationalizing  the  American  peo- 


Feb.  1862]        THE   WAR  FINANCIAL   MEASURES.  115 

pie  ;  for  the  purpose  of  stripping  the  American  people  of  the  attributes  of 
sovereignty  ;  for  the  purpose  of  laying,  as  I  have  said  before,  at  the  feet  and 
at  the  mercy  of  brokers  and  hawkers  on  'Change  the  power  of  the  people 
over  their  monetary  interests  in  this  hour  of  national  exigency." 

Bingham  was  one  of  our  most  effective  speakers,  and 
was  usually  put  forward  as  the  Republican  champion.  His 
whole  speech  was  very  forcible.  He  usually  stirred  up 
his  opponents,  and  was  subjected  to  interruptions,  and 
rather  liked  them.  His  temper  was  good,  his  retorts  and 
replies  always  happy  and  effective.  He  supported  the 
bill  in  its  entirety. 

Sheffield,  of  Rhode  Island,  made  a  set  speech  against 
the  bill. 

Mr.  Crisfield,  of  Maryland,  a  slaveholder,  one  of  the 
ablest  and  best  lawyers  in  the  House,  an  amiable  and 
lovable  man,  began  by  an  over-modest  depreciation  of 
himself.  I  must  make  room  for  his  manly  appreciation 
of  the  President : 

"  Sir,  I  did  not  contribute  to  bring  this  Administration  into  power.  I 
had  known  the  President  in  former  years,  and  personally  I  liked  him.  I 
knew  him  to  be  honest,  and  I  believed  him  to  be  brave,  and  I  hoped  that 
he  was  patriotic.  As  my  knowledge  of  him  has  increased,  this  belief  and 
this  hope  have  grown  and  are  still  growing.  I  had  no  affinities  with  the 
principles  upon  which  he  was  presented  to  the  American  people.  From  the 
peculiar  and  distinctive  features  of  the  platform  of  his  party  I  differed,  and 
still  differ.  I  lamented  his  election,  not  so  much  on  his  own  account  as  of 
the  disturbance  I  knew  it  would  occasion.  But,  sir,  he  is  here.  He  has 
been  elected  President  of  the  United  States.  I  recognize  him  as  legally  in 
vested  with  all  the  constitutional  powers  of  that  high  dignity  ;  and  it  is  as 
well  a  constitutional  obligation  as  a  dictate  of  patriotism  to  give  his  Admin 
istration,  in  this  hour  of  evil,  a  fair,  impartial,  active,  and  energetic  sup 
port.  Many  things  have  been  done  under  this  Administration  which  I  do 
not  approve  ;  some  things,  I  think,  are  positively  wrong.  Yet  I  do  recog 
nize  in  his  public  conduct  an  honest  effort  to  maintain  this  Union  of  the 
States  with  unabridged  privileges,  and  restore  the  Constitution  to  its  ancient 
and  rightful  supremacy.  I  desire  to  support  him  in  this  great  work.  I  be 
lieve  it  is  the  duty  of  all  good  citizens  to  sustain  him.  I  shall,  therefore, 
give  his  Administration,  in  all  of  its  efforts  in  this  great  work,  a  fair,  candid, 
honest,  and  unreserved  support.  Especially  do  I  desire  to  support  him  in 


Il6  RECOLLECTIONS  OF   WAR    TIMES.     [Jan,  1862- 

his  financial  policy.  I  desire  to  support  him  in  that,  because  that  of  all 
others  is  the  most  important  to  national  safety.  If  that  fails,  all  else  must 
fail.  If  you  fail  to  obtain  the  requisite  means,  your  army  is  disbanded,  the 
Union  is  destroyed,  the  Constitution  overturned,  the  country  ruined,  and 
our  national  life  will  be  entirely  destroyed.  Hence,  sir,  I  am  disposed  to 
view  with  the  utmost  candor,  with  favorable  predisposition,  every  measure 
of  finance  presented  for  my  acceptance,  having  for  its  purpose  the  national 
safety,  and  the  restoration  of  the  Constitution  to  its  just  authority." 

He  opposed  the  bill  in  a  very  able  constitutional  argu 
ment. 

Mr.  Pike  of  Maine,  one  of  the  strong  clear  men,  made 
an  able  speech  for  the  measure,  as  did  Mr.  Alley  of 
Massachusetts. 

An  effort  was  then  made  to  close  debate — which  failed. 
Wright  of  Pennsylvania  opposed  the  bill.  Mr.  Horton,  of 
the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  made  a  forcible  speech 
against  it  also. 

Mr.  Kellogg  spoke  for  it.  Judge  Thomas  made  a  short 
strong  speech  against  it. 

Mr.  Edwards  was  for  it. 


Mr.  RIDDLE  (on  a  motion  to  strike  out  the  legal-tender  feature) — "Almost 
as  soon  as  men  began  to  traffic  they  began  to  observe  in  it  certain  usages. 
These  grew  with  the  barter  and  exchange  of  commodities  until  they  became 
customs,  enlarged  themselves  to  rules  of  general  observance  and  application, 
and  finally  constituted  what  we  call  the  laws  of  trade  or  commerce.  This 
code,  the  pure  offspring  of  commerce,  owes  little  to  municipal  law,  though 
it  often  in  a  way  dictates  municipal  statutes.  Although  it  is  of  vast  interna 
tional  obligation,  it  in  no  way  depends  upon  treaties,  yet  in  its  universal 
dominion  it  has  compelled  the  negotiation  of  more  international  compacts 
and  arrangements  than  all  other  causes  combined. 

"  The  laws  of  trade  may  be  said  to  be  universal  in  their  dominion, 
irrepealable  in  their  nature,  and  sovereign  in  their  jurisdiction. 

"  At  first  the  sovereign,  caring  for  his  own  wants  and  nothing  for  those  of 
his  subjects,  levied  his  revenues  in  the  simplest  and  most  direct  way  possible 
— he  took  what  he  wanted.  Experience  ultimately  demonstrated  even  to 
kings  that  the  purposes  of  revenue  could  best  be  subserved  by  some  attention 
to  the  rules  of  commerce.  And  the  suggestion  was  cultivated  and  improved 
until  the  Government  fiscal  machinery,  adjusted  by  a  thousand  years  of  heeded 
experience,  was  placed  by  the  great  streams  and  channels  of  commerce,  and 


Feb.  18621       THE   WAR  FINANCIAL   MEASURES.  1 1/ 

propelled  by  their  currents  without  a  serious  detriment  to  trade,  and  with 
great  advantage  to  the  sovereign's  revenues. 

"  It  is  obvious  that  the  more  perfect  the  harmony  between  the  govern 
mental  financial  machinery  and  these  courses  and  currents  of  trade,  the  more 
prosperous  and  flourishing  must  be  the  condition  of  a  given  nation.  It  should 
be  the  purpose  of  the  sovereign  to  withdraw  the  smallest  needed  amount  from 
these  streams,  retain  it  the  shortest  time,  and  return  it  in  an  unimpaired 
condition.  From  these  briefly  stated  premises  two  or  three  conclusions 
inevitably  arise  : 

"  The  laws  of  commerce  were  not  enacted  by  Congress. 

"They  cannot  be  repealed  or  controlled  by  our  legislation,  and  any 
attempt  to  disregard  them  must  end  in  disaster. 

"  A  scheme  of  national  finance,  to  be  successful,  must  be  so  adjusted  that 
its  workings  will  harmonize  and  not  conflict  with  these  laws. 

"A  scheme  that  should  exhaust  the  circulating  medium  that  fills  the 
channels  of  trade  would  fail. 

"  So,  too,  if  those  streams  are  inadequate  to  the  wants  of  commerce  and 
the  Government,  means  to  augment  them  must  be  found  ;  while  that  plan, 
based  upon  principles  at  utter  war  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  com 
merce,  must,  upon  a  gigantic  scale  like  ours,  result  in  the  destruction  of 
both. 

"  The  primal  fundamental  demands  of  commerce,  and  without  which  it  is 
impossible,  is  an  adequate  supply  of  money — actual  money  ;  not  that  which 
some  king  or  Congress  calls  money,  but  that  which  is  coined  pursuant  to  the 
usages  of  trade,  and  that  cannot  be  debased  below  its  standard  ;  money  and 
its  equivalents,  made  its  equivalents  by  real  money's  actual  presence.  It  was 
early  discovered  that  certain  metals  had  the  highest  intrinsic  value,  below 
which  they  would,  under  no  circumstance,  ever  fall,  however  that  value 
might  vary.  This  gave  them  a  still  higher  exchangeable  value.  Nations, 
under  the  demands  of  commerce,  seized  upon  these  metals  and  stamped  upon 
them  the  national  estimate  of  their  worth,  made  up  of  their  intrinsic  and 
exchangeable  value,  and  thus  coined  money — as  nature  coins  her  works,  with 
the  image  of  truth  on  the  outside. 

"  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  various  national  standards  thus  made  up,  as 
applied  to  a  given  piece  of  these  metals  of  known  weight  and  fineness,  are 
nearly  identical.  Below  this  standard  real  money  never  falls.  It  is  the 
sovereign  quality  of  money  in  commercial  estimation,  that  the  holders  of 
personal  service  and  commodities  will  always  readily  exchange  them  for 
money.  Hence  the  holder  of  money  can  always  command  them,  and  his 
power  to  do  so  is  limited  only  by  the  quantity  of  his  money.  If  his  money 
is  limitless,  his  power  to  command  services  and  commodities  is  limitless. 
He  might  buy  up  the  political  and  physical  dominions  of  the  globe,  purchase 
of  kings  their  crowns,  and  make  virtue  triumphant  by  paying  a  premium  for 
good  deeds. 

"  Whoever  throws  into  the  channels  of  trade,  in  the  place  of  money,  any- 


Il8  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.     [Jan.  1862- 

thing  less  valuable  than  it  and  its  equivalents,  to  that  extent,  at  least,  disar 
ranges  and  demoralizes  the  whole  vast  and  complex  national  and  individual 
interests  dependent  upon  their  healthy  action. 

"  Can  money  be  made  of  paper?  Clearly  not  by  calling  it  money,  though 
all  the  people  and  their  rulers  should  conspire  under  any  form  of  solemnity 
to  call  it  so,  nor  yet  by  attempting  to  make  it  perform  the  functions  of  money. 
Paper  has  no  appreciable  intrinsic  value  ;  and  its  exchangeable  value  is  of  the 
lowest  possible  grade.  The  only  high  degree  of  value  it  can  ever  .attain  is 
that  which  maybe  imparted  to  it  by  that  which  is  written  or  printed  upon  it. 
Stamp  on  it  by  the  national  impress  that  it  is  money,  and  try  it  by  a  com 
mercial  test.  The  holder  of  it  would  not  necessarily  have  the  power  to 
command  a  moment's  service  or  the  most  trifling  commodity.  Say  that  it 
has  the  quality  of  discharging  private  liability,  and  yet  the  holder  of  brain 
and  bone  and  muscle  might  not  be  induced  to  make  the  least  exchange  for 
it.  But  it  is  possible  that  they  would  to  a  certain  extent.  Give  the  holder 
of  this  money  a  limitless  supply  and  send  him  into  the  market,  and  we  know 
there  is  a  limit  beyond  which  he  cannot  get  in  his  purchases,  arising  wholly 
from  the  quality  of  the  article  with  which  he  would  buy.  In  the  course  of 
his  transactions  he  would  soon  find  that  he  is  obliged  to  exchange  more  paper 
for  less  commodities,  and  this  would  go  on  until  the  extreme  limit  was 
reached,  at  which  all  the  paper  that  he  has  parted  with,  as  well  as  all  he  still 
holds,  is  worth  less  than  the  paper  ere  it  was  made  money. 

"  Who  now  will  arise  and  say  that  money  can  be  made  of  paper  ? 

"  Let  the  national  hand  inject  a  mass  of  this  miscalled  stuff  into  the 
channels  of  commerce,  and  what  result  but  one  can  ensue  ? 

"  As  a  nation  we  now  require  and  must  have  a  limitless  supply  of  service 
and  commodities.  Our  market  can  furnish  them.  The  holders  are  not 
only  friendly  and  favorable,  but  anxious  to  make  the  exchange.  Indeed, 
the  very  purpose  we  wish  to  accomplish  is  identical  with  their  most  cherished 
interests  ;  or,  rather,  upon  its  accomplishment  depend  all  the  values  of  their 
interests,  and  our  need  now  is  a  supply  of  a  commodity  with  which  to  effect 
the  exchange. 

"  Money  we  have  not,  and  hence  cannot  create  its  equivalents. 

"  In  this  exigency,  it  would  be  easy  to  issue  the  proposed  $100,000,000  and 
make  it  by  law  a  legal  tender,  or  money.  Indeed,  no  choice  seems  left  us 
but  to  dare  the  experiment  in  some  form.  Under  the  wisest  provisions  and 
restrictions  I  look  for  loss,  if  not  disaster,  and  I  only  hope  we  may  escape 
the  worst  consequences  that  have  hitherto  attended  all  similar  schemes  ;  and 
I  trust  we  may,  if  we  can  still  profit  by  the  maxim  that  permits  even  fools 
to  learn  by  experience.  It  is  apparent  that  the  whole  quantity  of  the  cir 
culating  medium  must  be  materially  increased,  for  obviously  that  which  was 
only  equal  to  the  demands  of  commerce  and  the  ordinary  wants  of  the  Gov 
ernment  is  wholly  inadequate  to  the  same  demands  and  the  extraordinary 
wants  of  the  Government. 

"  The  Constitution  furnishes  ample  warrant  for  an  issue  of  Treasury  notes  ; 


Feb.  1862]        THE   WAR  FINANCIAL   MEASURES.  I  IQ 

but  it  cannot  be  found  in  the  loose  way  in  which  many  able  gentlemen  derive 
it.  They  seem  to  regard  the  Constitution  as  a  reservoir  originally  contain 
ing  limitless  power,  all  of  which  still  remains,  unless  withdrawn  by  a  special 
prohibition.  In  fact,  it  was  to  commence  with  an  empty  receptacle,  and 
never  contained  anything  except  what  was  placed  in  it  directly.  As  to  this 
matter,  even  if  it  can  be  shown  that  the  framers  of  that  instrument  did  not 
intend  to  place  the  power  to  issue  these  notes  in  the  Constitution,  and  that 
they  supposed  by  refusing  to  deposit  it  there,  it  would  not  therein  exist,  still, 
with  others,  I  find  in  that  instrument  powers  and  duties  that  clearly  carry 
with  them  this  power  as  an  incident  ;  but  I  do  not  find  it,  nor  any  other 
power,  merely  because  the  Constitution  does  not  prohibit  it. 

"  Even  if  the  Constitution  had  prohibited  the  Congress,  as  it  does  the 
States,  from  issuing  'bills  of  credit,'  we  still  might  issue  Treasury  notes, 
because  they  are  not  '  bills  of  credit ' ;  nor  are  the  notes  issued  by  the  State 
banks.  Bills  of  credit  were  well  understood  by  the  framers  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  have  no  essential  element  in  common  with  notes  such  as  we  may 
issue.  I  may  not  now  point  out  the  distinctions  and  differences  that  clearly 
mark  the  two. 

"  The  quality  to  be  exclusively  relied  upon  to  insure  the  circulation  of  a 
paper  medium,  is  the  never-questioning  confidence  of  a  community  in  the 
ability  and  intention  of  its  issuers  to  pay  it.  The  paper,  then,  should  bear 
on  its  face  the  highest  proof  of  this  ability  and  intention  ;  and  no  mark  or 
characteristic  that  would  raise  a  doubt  or  lead  to  inquiry  should  mar  it. 
When  paper,  whether  issued  by  individuals,  corporations,  or  nations,  is 
once  issued,  it  is  subject  to  precisely  the  same  laws,  and  under  the  same 
circumstances  will  reach  and  produce  similar  results.  In  those  respects  no 
difference  can  exist.  The  name  '  national  currency '  may  delude.  The 
only  possible  difference  that  can  exist  between  paper  issued  by  a  nation  and 
that  issued  by  an  individual  is,  a  nation  can  write  better  evidence  of  its 
ability  and  intention  to  pay  upon  its  obligations,  than  can  an  individual.  No 
other  difference  does  or  can  exist.  The  making  these  notes  receivable 
mutually  between  the  Government  and  its  creditors  and  debtors,  and  also  a 
legal  tender,  does  not  and  cannot  fall  within  the  evidences  of  the  nation's 
ability  and  inclination  to  pay  them  ;  nor  can  those  characteristics  in  any  way 
add  to  the  stability  of  this  currency,  or  provoke  a  confidence  in  the  people 
to  receive  them. 

"  They  are  only  facilities  by  which  a  most  dangerous  and  unhealthy  cir 
culation  will  be  stimulated  and  secured.  I  am  prepared  to  make  these 
notes  receivable  for  the  public  dues,  which  does  make  them  a  qualified  legal 
tender  I  admit,  and  gives  to  those  who  contend  for  the  main  proposition  a 
serious  advantage  in  the  argument  ;  but  beyond  that  I  will  not  go.  The 
power  to  make  these  notes  a  legal  tender  is  a  constitutional  vagabond,  and 
finds  a  lurking-place  nowhere  in  our  system.  The  proposition  that  because 
the  States  only  were  prohibited  this  power,  and  therefore  we  may  exercise 
it,  needs  no  further  refutation. 


120  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [Jan.  1862- 

"The  grounds  on  which  my  distinguished  colleague  (Mr.  Bingham)  rests 
this  power  are  most  extraordinary.  He  says  that  the  Constitution  has  con 
ferred  no  power  upon  Congress  at  all  in  reference  to  the  subject  of  legal 
tender — says  nothing  at  all  about  it, — and  therefore  we  have  the  power  to 
make  paper  a  legal  tender,  and  money  generally.  Why,  sir,  according  to 
him,  a  man  might,  with  a  tin  cup  of  prescribed  pattern,  dip  up  a  pint  of 
water  from  the  nearest  puddle  and  make  that  a  legal  tender,  if  the  Congress 
should  so  will.  This  is  beyond  the  reach  of  argument.  Not  only  is  there 
no  warrant  for  this  power,  but  its  exercise  violates  the  whole  spirit  of  the 
Constitution.  Under  that  we  may  in  one  way  impair  contracts — that  is,  we 
may  discharge  men  from  the  obligation  of  a  contract  by  a  bankrupt  law  ; 
but  that  we  can  only  do  by  express  grant  of  power. 

14  What  would  be  the  effect  of  making  those  notes  a  legal  tender  ?  A  man 
who  had  borrowed  five  hundred  dollars  in  gold,  on  thirty  days,  could  dis 
charge  himself  from  the  obligation  of  his  contract  by  the  delivery  of  five 
hundred  nominal  dollars  in  this  paper,  which  might  be  worth  '  utter  nothing.' 
We,  by  our  law,  give  the  power  to  do  this.  I  cannot  consent  to  it. 

"  It  is  ineffectual  to  quote  to  me  instances  where,  as  gentlemen  say,  Con 
gress  has,  in  another  way,  done  something  like  this.  It  is  a  villainy  not  to 
be  repeated. 

44  Still,  if  my  colleague  is  right  in  this  law,  men  need  not  take  these  notes 
unless  they  wish  to,  for  all  they  would  have  to  do  would  be  to  make  a  special 
bargain  for  gold  and  silver  in  their  dealings.  If  so,  what  value  is  there  in 
this  proposed  provision  of  your  law,  which  men  can  so  cheaply  nullify. 

41  This  quality  of  legal  tender  cannot  add  to  the  stability  of  this  currency, 
nor  will  it  induce  confidence,  but  the  reverse  of  both.  It  comes  in  '  a  ques 
tionable  shape,'  bold,  confessing,  and  shameless  ;  and  if  a  man  takes  it  at 
all,  it  is  not  because  he  wants  it,  but  either  because  he  must  have  it,  or  be 
cause  he  trusts  to  its  characteristic  to  get  rid  of  it  again.  Indeed,  one  of 
the  arguments  urged  for  the  incorporation  of  this  provision  into  this  bill  is, 
that  the  creditors  of  the  Government  who  must  take  these  notes  must  have 
the  power  to  get  rid  of  them  again,  as  a  matter  of  justice  to  them  ;  other 
wise  they  might  perish  on  their  hands.  The  death  ought  to  occur  one  re 
move  from  them.  In  the  name  of  all  commercial  sagacity,  how  long  do 
you  expect  to  keep  afloat  a  currency  that  thus  has  to  cut  its  way  into  market 
— be  shot  into  men,  so  to  speak  ?  How  long  will  it  be  before  the  holders 
of  services  and  commodities  will  refuse  to  exchange  for  it  ?  And  when  that 
time  comes,  even  creditors  will  prefer  to  trust  a  debtor  still  further  to  taking 
it,  and  it  comes  to  an  end  with  almost  everything  and  everybody  who  de 
pended  upon  it.  To  this  feature  I  cannot  consent.  I  will  vote  to  expunge 
it ;  and  if  that  fails,  1  will  choose  between  the  bill  and  its  defeat." 

After  various  briefer  speeches,  Mr.  Stevens  arose  to 
conclude  the  long  debate. 


Feb.  1862]       THE   WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES.  121 

Mr.  STEVENS. — "  Mr.  Chairman,  this  bill  is  a  measure  of  necessity,  not 
of  choice.  No  one  would  willingly  issue  paper  currency  not  redeemable  on 
demand,  and  make  it  a  legal  tender.  It  is  never  desirable  to  depart  from 
that  circulating  medium  which,  by  the  common  consent  of  civilized  nations, 
forms  the  standard  of  value.  But  it  is  not  a  fearful  measure  ;  and  when 
rendered  necessary  by  exigencies,  it  ought  to  produce  no  alarm. 

"  The  first  inquiry  then  is,  is  this  measure  necessary  ?  The  late  Adminis 
tration  left  a  debt  of  about  $100,000,000.  It  bequeathed  to  us  also  an  ex 
pensive  and  formidable  rebellion.  This  compelled  Congress,  at  its  extra 
session,  to  authorize  a  loan  of  $250,000,000  ;  $100,000,000  of  these  were 
taken  at  seven  and  three-tenths  per  cent.,  and  $50,000,000  of  six  per  cent, 
bonds,  at  a  discount  of  over  $5,000,000  ;  $50,000,000  undisposed  of.  Be 
fore  the  banks  had  been  paid  much  of  the  last  loan  they  broke  down  under 
it,  and  suspended  specie  payments.  They  have  continued  to  pay  that  loan, 
not  in  coin,  but  in  demand  notes  of  the  Government — that  has  kept  them 
at  par.  B~ut  the  last  of  that  loan  was  paid  yesterday  ;  and  on  the  same  day 
the  banks  refused  to  receive  them.  They  must  now  sink  to  depreciated 
currency.  The  remaining  $50,000,000  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  has 
been  unable  to  negotiate.  A  small  portion  of  it,  say  $10,000,000,  has  been 
issued  at  seven  and  three-tenths  in  payment  of  debts. 

"  All  this  has  been  used;  and  there  is  now  a  floating  debt,  audited  and 
unaudited,  of  at  least  $180,000,000.  The  Secretary  intended  to  use  the 
balance  of  the  authorized  loan  by  paying  it  out  to  creditors  in  notes  of  seven 
and  three-tenths  ;  that  becoming  known  they  immediately  sank  four  per 
cent.,  and  if  he  had  preserved  it,  it  is  believed  they  would  have  run  down 
to  ten  per  cent,  discount.  But  even  if  these  could  be  used  (about  $40,000,000) 
there  would  remain  due  about  $90,000,000,  the  payment  of  which  is  urgently 
demanded.  The  daily  expenses  of  the  Government  are  now  about 
$2,000,000.  To  carry  us  on  until  the  next  meeting  of  Congress,  would  take 
$600,000,000  more,  making,  before  legislation  could  be  had  at  next  session, 
about  $700,000,000  to  be  provided  for.  We  have  already  appropriated 
$350,000,000,  making  our  entire  debt  $1,050,000,000. 

"  The  grave  question  is,  how  can  this  large  amount  be  raised  ?  The  Sec 
retary  of  the  Treasury  has  used  his  best  efforts  to  negotiate  a  loan  of  but 
$50,000,000,  and  has  failed.  Several  modes  of  relief  have  been  suggested  ; 
the  most  obvious  is  to  borrow  on  Government  bonds,  bearing  an  interest  of 
six  per  cent.  That  it  is  known  can  only  be  effected  by  putting  the  bonds 
into  the  market  to  the  highest  bidder.  If  but  a  small  sum  were  wanted  it 
might  probably  be  had  at  a  small  discount.  But  if  sufficient  to  meet  our 
wants  up  to  next  December,  or  $700,000,000,  were  forced  into  the  market, 
as  it  is  wanted,  I  have  no  doubt  they  would  sell  as  low  as  sixty  per  cent.,  as 
in  the  last  English  war  ;  and  even  then  it  would  be  found  impossible  to  find 
payment  in  coin.  A  large  part  of  it  must  be  accepted  in  the  depreciated 
notes  of  non-specie-paying  banks,  for  I  suppose  no  one  expects  the  resump 
tion  of  specie  payments  until  the  war  shall  be  ended.  But  as  this  Congress 


122  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [Jan.  1862- 

must  provide  for  appropriations  to  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  1863,  seven 
months  more  must  be  added  to  these  expenses.  That  would  require  $420,- 
000,000  added  to  these  $700,000,000  before  estimated,  and  the  aggregate 
would  be  $1,100,000,000.  This  discount  on  the  sum  at  forty  per  cent, 
would  be  $440, 000,000.  At  the  minimum  discount  that  any  reasonable  man 
could  fix,  say  twenty-five  per  cent.,  it  would  be  $275,000,000.  It  would, 
therefore,  require  at  least  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $1,500,000,000  to  produce 
sufficient  currency  to  make  $1,100,000,000  and  carry  us  to  the  end  of  the 
next  fiscal  year.  This  sum  is  too  frightful  to  be  tolerated. 

"  Certain  bankers  have  suggested  that  the  immediate  wants  of  the  Govern 
ment  might  be  supplied  by  pledging  seven  and  three-tenths  per  cent,  bonds 
with  a  liberal  margin,  payable  in  one  year  to  the  banks,  who  would  advance 
a  portion  in  gold  and  the  rest  in  currency.  The  effect  would  be  that  Gov 
ernment  would  pay  out  to  its  creditors  the  depreciated  notes  of  non-specie- 
paying  banks.  And  as  there  is  no  probability  that  the  pledges  would  be  re 
deemed  when  due,  they  would  be  thrown  into  the  market  and  sold  for 
whatever  the  banks  might  choose  to  pay  for  them.  The  folly  of  this  scheme 
needs  no  illustration. 

"  Another  is  to  strike  out  the  legal-tender  clause,  and  make  them  receiv 
able  for  all  taxes  and  public  dues  ;  but  it  is  not  proposed  to  make  any  pro 
vision  for  redeeming  them  in  coin  on  demand.  I  do  not  believe  that  such 
notes  would  circulate  anywhere  except  at  a  ruinous  discount.  No  notes  not 
redeemable  on  demand,  and  not  made  a  legal  tender,  have  ever  been  kept  at 
par.  Even  those  who  could  use  them  for  taxes  and  duties  would  discredit 
them,  that  they  might  get  them  low.  If  soldiers,  mechanics,  contractors, 
and  farmers  were  compelled  to  take  them  from  the  Government,  they  must 
submit  to  a  heavy  shave  before  they  could  use  them.  The  knowledge  that 
they  were  provided  for  by  taxation,  and  would  surely  be  paid  twenty  years 
hence,  would  not  sustain  them." 

He  discussed  the  substitutes,  the  motion  to  strike  out 
the  legal-tender  provision,  answered  questions  from  every 
body, — and  then  short  speeches  from  several  followed. 

Mr.  SHELLABARGER. — "  Mr.  Chairman,  I  rise  to  oppose  the  pending 
amendment  (striking  out  the  legal-tender  provision).  I  did  desire  to  submit 
to  the  committee  some  views  touching  this  measure  when  we  were  in  general 
debate,  but  omitted  to  do  so  in  deference  to  the  more  matured  views  which 
other  members  of  the  committee  desired  to  submit.  I  propose  to  occupy  the 
few  moments  I  have,  in  making  some  statements  in  relation  to  the  charges 
of  bad  faith  and  injustice  which  have  been  so  persistently,  earnestly,  and, 
doubtlessly,  sincerely  made  by  the  opponents  of  the  bill. 

"  Now,  sir,  I  think  it  must  be  plain,  beyond  all  cavil,  that  if  these  notes 
proposed  to  be  issued  under  this  bill  are  made  of  the  value  impressed  upon 
them  by  law,  so  that  they  will  be  to  the  citizen  the  true  and  real  representa- 


Feb.  1862]       THE  WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES.  12$ 

lives  of  that  amount  of  the  intrinsic  wealth  of  the  country  which  is  stamped 
by  law  upon  them  as  their  nominal  value,  then  there  can  be  no  practical 
injury,  injustice,  or  bad  faith  in  the  law  which  makes  them  pay  a  debt  pre 
cisely  equal  to  the  real  value  or  wealth  of  the  country,  which  that  note,  so 
made  a  tender,  represents.  It  is,  of  course,  not  my  purpose  now  either  to 
discuss  or  state  these  views  by  which  others  see  in  this  measure — as  dis 
tinguished  from  those  they  advocate — only  disaster,  in  the  shape  of  '  destruc 
tion  of  all  standards  of  value '  ;  in  the  '  inflation  of  the  business  and  the 
prices  of  the  country '  ;  in  disordering  the  '  operations  of  trade  and  com 
merce  '  ;  and  in  the  ultimate  '  bankruptcy  '  of  the  Government  of  the 
people.  I  have  no  doubt  this  cry  is  made  sincerely  by  many,  and  perhaps 
is  believed  by  all  who  make  it.  I  do  not  discuss  the  sources  and  reasonable 
ness  of  this  cry  of  alarm,  but  only  wish  to  present  a  parallel  to  it,  and  say 
that  this  cry  is,  to  my  mind,  as  unreasonable  as  that  other  to  which  I  allude. 
I  find  that  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  growth  of  the  debt  of  England  ;  and 
in  the  light  of  that  history,  I  declare  that  this  cry  of  '  bankruptcy  '  and  na 
tional  disaster  and  ruin  is  utterly  unreasonable,  and  just  now  most  pernicious. " 

The  suspension  of  the  Bank  of  England  was  discussed 
further  by  Mr.  Shellabarger. 

Campbell  and  Morrill  spoke  again,  Hickman  interjected 
a  short  forcible  speech — these  under  the  five  minutes'  rule, 
which  often  produces  the  best  debating  in  the  House.  So 
also  Conkling,  Lovejoy,  and  Hooper  spoke,  and  the  war 
of  words  went  on.  Finally  the  House  came  to  a  vote. 
The  motion  to  strike  out  the  legal  tender  was  lost  by  a 
decided  majority.  The  latest  substitute  was  negatived 
by  fifty-five  for  to  ninety-five  against,  and  the  House, 
brought  to  a  vote  on  the  bill,  passed  it,  ninety-three  for, 
to  fifty-nine  against  it,  as  follows : 

YEAS. — Aldrich,  Alley,  Arnold,  Ashley,  Babbitt,  Gold 
smith  F.  Baily,  Joseph  Baily,  Baker,  Beaman,  Bingham, 
Francis  P.  Blair,  Jacob  B.  Blair,  Samuel  S.  Blair,  Blake, 
Buffington,  Burnham,  Campbell,  Chamberlin,  Clarke,  Col- 
fax,  Cutler,  Davis,  Delano,  Delaplaine,  Duell,  Dunn, 
Edgerton,  Edwards,  Ely,  Fenton,  Fessenden,  Fisher, 
Franchot,  Frank,  Gooch,  Granger,  Gurly,  Haight,  Hale, 
Hanchett,  Harrison,  Hickman,  Hooper,  Hutchins,  Julian, 
Kelley,  Francis  W.  Kellogg,  William  Kellogg,  Killinger, 
Lansing,  Leary,  Loomis,  McKean,  Me  Knight,  McPherson, 


124  RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR   TIMES.       U an. 1862- 

Marston,  Maynard,  Mitchell,  Moorhead,  Anson  P.  Merrill, 
Nugen,  Olin,  Patton,  Timothy  G.  Phelps,  Pike,  Price, 
Alexander  H.  Rice,  John  N.  Rice,  Riddle,  James  S.  Rol 
lins,  Sargent,  Shanks,  Shellabarger,  Sherman,  Sloane, 
Spaulding,  John  B.  Steele,  Stevens,  Trimble,  Trowbridge, 
Upton,  Van  Horn,  Van  Valkenburgh,  Van  Wyck,  Verree, 
Wall,  Wallace,  Charles  W.  Walton,  Whaley,  Albert  S. 
White,  Wilson,  Windom,  and  Worcester — 93. 

NAYS. — Ancona,  Baxter,  Biddle,  George  H.  Browne, 
Cobb,  Frederick  A.  Conkling,  Roscoe  Conkling,  Conway, 
Corning,  Cox,  Cravens,  Crisfield,  Diven,  Dunlap,  Eliot, 
English,  Goodwin,  Grider,  Harding,  Holman,  Horton, 
Johnson,  Knapp,  Law,  Lazear,  Lovejoy,  Mallory,  May, 
Menzies,  Justin  S.  Morrill,  Morris,  Nixon,  Noble,  Norton, 
Odell,  Pendleton,  Perry,  Pomeroy,  Potter,  Richardson, 
Robinson,  Edward  H.  Rollins,  Sedgwick,  Sheffield,  Shiel, 
William  G.  Steele,  Stratton,  Benjamin  F.  Thomas,  Fran 
cis  Thomas,  Train,  Vallandigham,  Voorhees,  Wadsworth, 
E.  P.  Walton,  Ward,  Webster,  Chilton  A.  White,  Wick- 
liffe,  and  Wright — 59. 

In  the  Senate  the  motion  to  strike  out  the  legal-tender 
clause  was  lost,  eleven  for,  to  twenty-two  against : 

YEAS. — Anthony,  Bayard,  Collamer,  Cowan,  Fessenden, 
Foot,  Foster,  Kennedy,  King,  Latham,  and  Willey — u. 

NAYS.— Chandler,  Clark,  Davis,  Dixon,  Doolittle,  Har- 
lan,  Harris,  Henderson,  Howard,  Howe,  Lane  of  Indiana, 
McDougall,  Morrill,  Pomeroy,  Rice,  Sherman,  Sumner, 
Ten  Eyck,  Wade,  Wilkinson,  Wilson  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Wilson  of  Missouri — 22. 

On  the  passage  of  the  bill,  the  vote  was : 

YEAS. — Anthony,  Chandler,  Clark,  Davis,  Dixon,  Doo 
little,  Fessenden,  Foot,  Foster,  Grimes,  Hale,  Harlan, 
Harris,  Henderson,  Howard,  Howe,  Lane  of  Indiana, 
Latham,  McDougall,  Morrill,  Pomeroy,  Rice,  Sherman, 
Sumner,  Ten  Eyck,  Trumbull,  Wade,  Wilkinson,  Wilson 
of  Massachusetts,  and  Wilson  of  Missouri — 30. 


Feb.  1862]       THE  WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES.  125 

NAYS. — Collamer,  Cowan,  Kennedy,  King,  Pearce, 
Powell,  and  Saulsbury — 7. 

Thus  the  bill  was  passed. 

Some  amendments  of  the  Senate  were  arranged,  but 
these  votes  fairly  show  the  judgment  of  the  Houses. 

The  act  was  approved  February  25,  1862. 

The  principal  things  authorized  were  the  issue  of 
$150,000,000,  including  the  $50,000,000  by  the  act  of  July 
1 7th — receivable  for  all  dues,  except  duties  on  imports 
(which  would  remain  payable  in  coin),  and  a  legal-tender 
for  all  debts — to  be  reissued.  The  issue  of  $500,000,000 
5-20  bonds,  interest  payable  semi-annually,  in  coin,  which 
might  be  sold  for  lawful  money,  including  Treasury 
notes,  to  be  held  exempt  from  State  taxation.  The  hold 
ers  of  the  legal-tender  notes  could  exchange  for  the  bonds 
in  sums  of  $100.  There  was  also  a  suspension  of  the 
sub-Treasury  law. 

Coin  received  on  duties  was  devoted  to  the  payment  of 
interest  on  the  bonds. 

This  $150,000,000  was  soon  exhausted,  and  Secretary 
Chase,  on  the  7th  of  June  following,  asked  for  $150,- 
000,000  more ;  $35,000,000  to  be  in  sums  less  than  five 
dollars.  This  passed  the  House  June  nth,  seventy-six 
for,  to  forty-seven  against,  and  in  the  Senate  July  2d, 
twenty-two  for,  to  thirteen  against.  Sherman  and  other 
strong  Republicans  were  with  the  nays.  We  also  created 
the  fractional  currency — at  first  using  the  postal-stamp 
design.  We  had  used  the  ordinary  post-office  stamps 
themselves  for  change.  There  were  $30,000,000  of  this 
fractional  currency.1 

1  Legal-tender  in  the  Supreme  Court. 

Lane  Co.  vs.  The  State  of  Oregon.  The  Supreme  Court  decided  that 
legal-tender  Treasury  notes  were  not  a  legal-tender  in  payment  of  taxes 
levied  by  that  State.  7  Wall,  71. 

So  in  a  case  where  by  contract  payment  was  to  be  made  in  gold.  Brown- 
son  vs.  Rohdes,  id.,  259. 

The  court,  by  Chief- Justice  Chase,  held  that  a  contract  payable  in  dollars, 


126  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Jan.  1862- 

I  may  here  state  briefly  our  further  financial  legislation. 
At  our  third  session  we  passed  an  act,  approved  March  3, 

1863,  for  a  loan  of  $900,000,000.     A  provision  of  this  act 
prohibited,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  the  funding  of  legal-tenders  in  the  six  per  cent,  bonds, 
and  he  cut  such  funding  off.     The  act  provided  a  five  per 
cent.  10-40  bond,  which  the  Secretary  failed  to  float,  and 
gold  advanced    ultimately  to  285,  or  rather  greenbacks, 
the  representatives  of  the  nation's  credit  and   financial 
honor,  sank  to  thirty-five  cents  of  the  promised  dollar. 
When  Mr.  Chase  left  the  Treasury  Department,  June  30, 

1864,  there  was  $1,000,000,000  of   our   paper  afloat   or 
sunk,  which  became  a  complex  mass  of  greenbacks,  inter 
est-bearing  notes,  certificates  of  indebtedness,  fractional 
currency,  the  currency  of  the  new  national  banks,  beside 
the  bills  of  the  suspended  State  banks.     There  are  those 
who  regard  Mr.  Chase's  prohibition  of   funding  demand 
Treasury  notes  into  the  six  per  cents,  as  the  greatest  mis 
take  of  the  war. 

The  National  Bank  Bill  passed  the  Senate  February  12, 
1863 — twenty-three  for,  to  twenty-one  against, — and  came 
to  us ;  we  passed  it  seventy-eight  to  sixty-four.  The 
scheme  made  the  United  States  bonds  a  basis  ("  atmos 
pheric  basis,"  as  Mr.  Morrill  called  it)  of  banking.  This 

made  before  the  legal-tender  acts,  could  not  be  satisfied  by  legal-tender 
notes.  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold,  8  Wall,  604. 

The  court  consisted  of  eight  Justices  ;  five^  Chase,  Nelson,  Greer,  Clif 
ford,  and  Field,  made  the  decision,  Changes  in  the  court  were  made,  which 
had  reached  the  full  number— nine,  namely,  Chase,  Nelson,  Clifford, 
Swayne,  Miller,  Davis,  Field,  Strong,  and  Bradley.  This  court  heard  full 
argument  on  all  the  points  involved,  in  Knox  vs.  Lee  and  Barber  vs.  Davis, 
December  term,  1870.  Strong  delivered  the  opinion  of  the  court,  five  to 
four,  holding  that  debts  contracted  before  the  passage  of  the  Legal-Tender 
Act  of  February  25,  1862,  were  payable  in  legal-tender  notes — thus  over 
ruling  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold. 

Elaborate  contra  opinions  were  delivered  by  the  Chief  Justice,  Justices 
Clifford  and  Field.  12  Wall,  457. 

The  Chief  Justice  spoke  bitterly,  to  the  writer,  of  this  result  and  said  the 
President  (Grant)  had  on  this  question  packed  the  Court. 


Feb.  1862]        THE   WAR  FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 

made  a  demand  for  bonds,  and  the  banks  could  issue 
$300,000,000  in  notes  for  circulation. 

Returning  to  the  second — or  first  regular  session. 

The  Internal  Revenue  Act  was  passed  July  i,  1862. 
This  laid  duties  on  various  products,  liquors,  incomes, 
trades,  and  occupations,  and  created  the  whole  system  of 
internal  revenue,  with  its  collectors  and  officers.  The 
proceeds  were  really  enormous. 

These  three — Treasury  Notes,  National  Banks,  and  In 
ternal  Revenue — completed  the  circle  of  war  financial 
measures.  There  was  also  a  rebel  land-tax,1  and  an  in 
crease  of  import  duties. 

The  national  bank  scheme  was  designed  by  Mr.  Chase 
as  a  relief  war  measure;  it  was  not  so  regarded  generally. 
Yet  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was  in  a  way  the  keystone  of 
the  system  of  credit  upon  which  the  war  was  fought.  To 
give  something  of  stability  to  the  greenbacks,  which  knew 
no  redeemer,  they  were  made  convertible  into  coupon 
gold-bearing  bonds,  until  this  was  arrested  by  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury.  To  float  these  again,  a  system  of 
national  banking  was  devised,  resting  wholly  upon  these 
very  bonds,  so  that  with  the  call  of  the  greenback  holders 
for  bonds  for  a  time  and  the  huge  demand  for  them  created 
by  the  National  Currency  Act,  to  bank  upon,  a  steady 
demand  for  their  thousands  of  millions  could  always  be 
depended  upon,  while  the  only  vitalizing  spirit  that  could 
animate  the  whole  ever-growing  porous  bulk  was  the  small 
driblet  of  gold  filtered  into  it  from  the  customs. 


1  Under  this  land-tax  title  was  sought  to  be  acquired  to  Arlington,  con 
verted  to  a  national  cemetery.  The  tax  was  not  paid,  and  the  estate  owned 
by  the  Custises— the  home  of  Robert  E.  Lee — was  sold  under  the  tax  law.  The 
sale  was  set  aside  by  the  United  States  Circuit  Court,  and  that  decision  con 
firmed  by  the  Supreme  Court,  when  Congress  appropriated  the  sum  of 
$150,000,  for  which  the  Custis  heirs  conveyed  the  estate  to  the  United  States. 
— 22d  U.  S.  Stats.,  p.  584.  also,  Lee  23.  U.  S.  16  Otto's  Rep.  196. 

The  author  predicted  this  result  when  consulted,  and  urged  action  under 
the  Confiscation  Act. 


128         RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.       [Jan.-Feb,  1862 

Is  there  anything  more  dreary  and  uninteresting  than 
the  Congressional  Globe  ?  We  are  now  weary  of  it,  though 
we  have  heard  none  of  the  heavy  guns  of  the  Senate. 
There  will  be  chances  for  them.  I  will  only  name  some 
of  the  further  more  important  war  measures  of  this  the 
first  regular  session,  which  I  had  left,  in  order  to  trace 
through  the  financial  legislation  to  the  end,  as  a  more 
perspicuous  way  of  dealing  with  the  heavy  and  complex 
labors  of  this  Congress. 

We  passed  several  acts  to  increase  the  navy ;  large  ap 
propriations  were  also  made  for  gunboats  on  the  western 
rivers,  the  first  amount  being  $1,000,000.  In  another  act 
we  authorized  the  construction  of  twenty  steam  ironclad 
gunboats  for  which  $10,000,000  were  to  be  paid. 
3  A  bill  for  the  relief  of  the  widows  of  the  men  killed  by 
the  destruction  of  the  frigates  Congress  and  Cumberland, 
sunk  by  the  Merrimac,  was  passed,  and  a  new  general 
pension  code  was  formulated.  The  important  act  to  sup 
press  insurrection,  punish  treason,  and  confiscate  the 
property  of  traitors,  gave  Congress  much  trouble  in  con 
nection  with  the  treason  provisions.  It  was  not  easy  to 
adjust  these  to  the  discriminating  views  of  the  President, 
who  was  as  wise  as  he  was  discriminating. 

There  was  also  the  very  important  captured-and-aban- 
doned  property  law,  under  which  was  realized  much  value 
from  cotton,  tobacco,  rice,  resin,  and  other  property. 

We  gave  thanks  to  General  Lyon  ;  to  Commodore 
Foote,  and  to  the  army  and  navy  generally  ;  to  Commodore 
Foote  again  ;  to  Commodore  Goldsborough  ;  to  officers  of 
gunboats,  to  Lieutenant  Worden,  Farragut,  and  General 
Grant.  "  Who  is  Grant  ?  Where  does  he  live  ?  "  was 
eagerly  asked— this  after  the  capture  of  Forts  Henry  and 
Donelson.  We  thanked  everybody— even  Halleck,— 
though  I  never  knew  what  for.  Finally  we  thanked  Me- 
Clellan. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
SLAVERY  AGAIN. 

JANUARY,  FEBRUARY,  1862. 
Denationalizing  Slavery — A  Radical  Speech. 

WE  had  much  to  say  and  do  about  slavery  that  winter 
— work  of  a  very  healthy  and  vigorous  character.  Slavery 
became  a  constant  target  of  assault,  and,  curiously  enough, 
no  man  ventured  a  word  in  its  defence  or  excuse.  The 
attempt  was  to  save  it  on  other  grounds  than  its 
merits.  A  great  many  speeches  were  made  against  it  in 
Committee  of  the  Whole  in  the  House,  upon  the  state  of 
the  Union,  in  which  the  whole  subject  of  the  war — cause, 
conduct,  and  everything  connected  with  it,  was  talked 
over  in  a  very  direct  way.  The  Senate  was  fully  as  in 
dustrious,  and  talked  more.  The  list  of  the  bills  and  joint 
resolutions  in  the  two  Houses,  having  to  do  with  the  sub 
ject,  in  the  session  with  which  I  am  dealing,  was  enormous. 

A  bill  was  reported  to  the  House  by  Lovejoy,  which 
proposed  to  make  freedom  national  and  slavery  sectional, 
and  to  place  slavery  everywhere  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  in  all  the  terri 
tories,  forts,  navy-yards,  ships,  camps,  and  armies.  Mr. 
Cox,  Mr.  WicklifTe,  and  others  of  his  faith,  promptly  as 
sailed  this  bill.  It  was  discussed  at  great  length  in  the 
House,  and  still  more  largely  in  the  Senate.  It  passed  the 
House  eighty-five  to  fifty,  as  follows : 


130  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR   TIMES.        [Jan.  1862- 

YEAS.— Aldrich,  Alley,  Arnold,  Ashley,  Babbitt,  Baker, 
Baxter,  Beaman,  Bingham,  Francis  P.  Blair,  Samuel  S. 
Blair,  Blake,  Buffinton,  Campbell,  Chamberlain,  Clark, 
Colfax,  Frederick  A.  Conkling,  Roscoe  Conkling,  Cutler, 
Davis,  Delano,  Diven,  Duell,  Dunn,  Edgerton,  Edwards, 
Eliot,  Ely,  Fenton,  Fessenden,  Franchot,  Frank,  Gooch, 
Granger,  Hale,  Harrison,  Hickman,  Hooper,  Horton, 
Hutchins,  Julian,  Kelley,  William  Kellogg,  Lansing, 
Loomis,  Lovejoy,  McKnight,  McPherson,  Mitchell,  Moor- 
head,  Anson  P.  Morrill,  Justin  S.  Merrill,  Olin,  Pike,  Por 
ter,  Potter,  Alexander  H.  Rice,  John  H.  Rice,  Riddle, 
Edward  H.  Rollins,  Sargent,  Sedgwick,  Shanks,  Sheffield, 
Shellabarger,  Stevens,  Stratton,  Benjamin  F.  Thomas, 
Train,  Trimble,  Trowbridge,  Van  Horn,  Verree,  Wall, 
Wallace,  Charles  W.  Walton,  E.  P.  Walton,  Washburne, 
Wheeler,  Albert  S.  White,  Wilson,  Windom,  and  Worces 
ter— 85. 

NAYS. — Allen,  Ancona,  Joseph  Baily,  Biddle,  Jacob 
B.  Blair,  George  H.  Browne,  William  G.  Brown,  Calvert, 
Casy,  Clements,  Cobb,  Cox,  Cravens,  Crisfield,  Crittenden, 
Dunlap,  English,  Girder,  Haight,  Hall,  Harding,  Holman, 
Johnson,  Kerrigan,  Knapp,  Law,  Lazear,  Leary,  Lehman, 
Mallory,  Maynard,  Menzies,  Morris,  Noell,  Odell,  Perry, 
John  S.  Phelps,  Richardson,  Robinson,  Segar,  John  B. 
Steele,  William  G.  Steele,  Francis  Thomas,  Vibbard, 
Voorhees,  Wadsworth,  Ward,  Webster,  Wickliffe,  and 
Woodruff — 50. 

In  the  Senate,  on  the  final  passage,  the  vote  was : 

YEAS. — Anthony,  Browning,  Chandler,  Clark,  Collamer, 
Cowan,  Dixon,  Fessenden,  Foot,  Foster,  Grimes,  Hale, 
Harlan,  Harris,  Howard,  Howe,  King,  Lane  of  Indiana, 
Pomeroy,  Rice,  Simmons,  Sumner,  Ten  Eyck,  Trumbull, 
Wade,  Wilkinson,  Wilmot,  and  Wilson  of  Massachusetts 
—28. 

NAYS. — Carlisle,  Davis,  Kennedy,  Latham,  McDougall, 
Nesmith,  Powell,  Saulsbury,  Stark,  and  Wright — 10. 


Feb.  1862]  SLAVERY  AGAIN.  131 

By  arrangement  in  the  general  debate  in  Committee  of 
the  Whole,  Mr.  Riddle  secured  the  floor,  for  which  he  had 
long  struggled,  on  January  27th. 

He  began  with  a  statement  of  the  problem  then  up  for 
its  final  solution — the  disposition  of  the  African  race  in 
the  Republic — or  rather  the  fortune  of  the  Republic  itself 
— they  were  mutually  dependent. 

"  I  do  not  like  this  question  ;  I  never  did.  I  wish  it  were  not  here,  nor 
anywhere  ;  but  it  is  upon  us,  and  we  may  not  avoid  it.  It  is  in  and  about 
everything  ;  mixed  with  everything  ;  or,  rather,  it  has  itself  become  every 
thing.  We  need  not  now  stop  to  complain  of  it,  nor  blame  anybody  for  it. 
We  may  be  indignant  that  it  so  blocks  up  the  way  of  the  nation,  and  pre 
vents  the  development  of  our  own  race.  We  may  say  the  negro  is  not  worth 
all  this  clamor,  nor  any  part  of  it.  That  does  not  get  rid  of  him.  And  you 
are  to  remember  that  he  did  not  bring  himself  and  this  war  here.  Negroes 
never  emigrate.  He  was  stolen  and  planted  here  against  his  wish  :  and  out 
of  the  ground  which  has  been  cursed  with  his  alien  feet  has  sprung  this  in 
fernal  question.  A  million  of  armed  soldiers  are  debating  it.  It  is  the 
argument  of  every  red  field  of  conflict.  Every  morning  a  million  of  bayonets 
come  pricking  through  the  cloud  of  night  to  cross  and  clash  over  it.  It 
must  be  solved  and  settled.  It  must  be  talked  about ;  all  that  everybody 
knows  of  it,  or  thinks  about  it,  had  better  straightway  be  said — said  as  well 
as  men  can  say  it ;  with  good  intent  and  for  good  purpose.  Let  us  see  it  in 
all  the  lights  in  which  it  can  be  exhibited,  and  find,  if  may  be,  a  way  out  of 
it.  Jurists  and  judges  declare  in  substance  that  slavery  is  the  direct  fruit 
of  war  itself.  It  is  perpetual  war  waged  by  the  master  and  his  allies  against 
the  slave  who  has  few  allies.  Being  war,  it  must  maintain  itself  by  the  con 
stant  exercise  of  the  active  principles  of  war — aggression  and  conquest.  It 
conquers  earth  on  which  to  plant  itself,  and  sky  to  shelter  it.  It  decom 
poses  and  reconstructs  the  very  atmosphere,  so  as  to  impart  life  and  vigor  to 
its  lungs,  and  makes  conquest  of  the  sentiment  about  it  to  procure  immunity 
and  toleration,  if  not  support." 

This  thought  is  pursued  until  it  is  shown  that  the 
allies  of  the  master  have  formed  the  slave  States — and  of 
them  formed  a  union  of  all  the  States,  and  that  union  is 
made  the  ally  of  the  slave  master  in  this  war. 

"  I  know  it  has  been  argued,  and  urged,  and  believed,  too,  that  the  free 
States  were  in  no  way  responsible  for  the  existence  of  slavery  in  the  slave 
States.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the  slave  code  said  to 
be  enacted  pursuant  to  its  provisions,  and  all  the  various  acts  of  the  several 


132  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.        [Jan.  1862- 

States  imposing  disabilities  upon  this  race,  are  an  infamous  refutation  of  this 
claim,  and  furnish  the  exact  measure  of  that  responsibility. 

"  The  aggressions  of  slavery  continued  until,  in  the  nation  as  in  the  State, 
it  had  debauched  the  public  morals,  enchained  the  church,  and  overcome 
the  national  conscience.  I  need  not  pursue  this  farther.  Ultimately,  when 
the  people  arose  to  limit  further  conquests  and  overthrew  it  in  a  political 
contest,  this  slavery,  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  its  life,  and  pursuant  to  the 
conclusions  of  its  own  logic,  appealed  to  its  old  weapon,  the  war  club  of  its 
heathen  founder. 

"  Sir,  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  had  little  to  do  with  this  war,  it  would 
unavoidably  have  taken  place  had  Mr.  Douglas  been  elected.  The  course 
of  events  had  conducted  the  struggle  to  this  stage,  and  the  ample  and 
thorough  preparation  of  the  slaveholders,  which  they  could  not  afford  to  lose, 
proves  that  they  had  predetermined  the  time  of  hostilities.  The  canker, 
long  gnawing  within,  had  eaten  its  way  to  the  surface. 

"  This  rebel  war  makes  us  the  inevitable  allies  of  the  slave  in  his  war 
against  the  master  ;  and  every  slaveholder  is  in  some  sense,  involuntarily  it 
may  be,  the  ally  of  the  rebels  ;  and  it  is  a  most  wonderful  indication  that 
the  limits  of  the  infected  region  exactly  coincide  with  the  boundary  lines  of 
the  slave  States." 

THE    SLAVE    AS    A    SUBJECT    OF     THE     UNITED    STATES    OWES   IT 
ALLEGIANCE,    AND    IS   ENTITLED   TO    ITS   PROTECTION. 

We  must  permit  the  speaker  to  sustain  this  proposition 
in  his  own  way. 

"  Is  the  slave  wholly  enveloped,  submerged,  and  lost  in  the  power  and 
control  of  the  master,  or  is  there  outside  of  the  master,  and  above  him,  still 
another  and  greater  power  to  which  the  slave  sustains  relations  independent 
of  his  master?  Did  it  ever  occur  to  you,  gentlemen,  that  the  slave  had  such 
relations  to  a  power  higher  than  the  master,  through  which  claims  upon 
him  might  be  asserted  at  utter  variance  with  the  master's  claims  ?  I  know 
that  without  question  or  argument  it  has  been  conceded  that  no  such  rela 
tions  exist.  I  am  bound  by  no  such  concession  ;  and  I  am  to  establish  the 
contrary,  and  maintain  it  if  I  may. 

"  In  our  fundamental  laws  slaves  are  known  only  as  persons — recognized 
as  part  of  the  great  mass  of  persons.  Does  that  instrument  erase  from  them 
the  universal  quality  of  subjects,  or  stamp  upon  them  one  inconsistent  with 
that  character?  They  are  '  persons  owing  service,'  which  is  a  recognition  of 
an  obligation  imposed  on  them  by  another  power  ;  but  they  themselves  are 
subordinate  to  the  power  created  by  the  Constitution,  within  which  they  are 
brought  by  apt  words  of  description,  and  this  new  power  may  impose  on 
them  obligations  inconsistent  with  the  old.  They  are  '  persons  owing  ser 
vice,'  just  as  are  minors  and  apprentices,  and,  in  the  same  sense,  are  subjects. 


Feb.  18621  SLAVERY  AGAIN.  133 

So  far  as  this  Constitution  has  created  legislative  sovereignty  at  all,  it  has 
conferred  it  on  the  two  Houses  of  Congress.  It  makes  them  sovereign  over  all 
persons  with  no  exception  whatever.  The  relation  then  between  this  Legis 
lature  and  your  slaves,  is  that  of  sovereign  and  subjects  ;  and  I  demand  to 
know  what  power  there  is  on  earth  that  can  come  between  this  sovereign  and 
these  subjects.  Do  they  owe  you  service  ?  They  owe  us  allegiance.  Are 
they  your  slaves  ?  They  are  our  subjects.  We  are  the  lord  paramount  with 
the  highest  title.  States  alone  are  prohibited  from  discharging  slaves  from 
the  debt  of  service  they  are  said  to  owe.  The  debt  of  service  was  not 
created  by  contract  nor  can  it  be  construed  to  come  between  us  and  our 
subjects.  It  would  dethrone  the  sovereign. 

"  This  reasoning  is  not  subtile  and  refined,  depending  on  technical  and 
artificial  rules,  but  rests  on  broad,  well-known  principles.  Our  right  to  legis 
late  upon  the  person  of  the  slave,  rests  upon  the  broad  ground  of  a  great 
sovereign  dealing  with  his  subject — in  opposition  to  a  private  despot  lording 
over  a  cringing  serf.  It  is  no  reply  to  this  to  say  that  slavery  is  older  than 
the  Constitution,  and  was  established  by  sovereigns  not  within  the  control  of 
that  Constitution  ;  because  these  sovereigns,  who,  as  between  themselves 
and  their  subjects,  called  these  persons  slaves,  when,  for  our  purposes,  they 
came  to  surrender  the  mass  of  their  subjects  to  our  sovereignty,  put  in  these 
slaves,  not  as  slaves,  but  as  persons  ;  so  that  while  to  them  (the  former  sover 
eigns)  they  remain  slaves,  they  are  to  us  subjects,  and  by  the  consent  of 
their  masters.  If  a  State  can  by  disabilities  withdraw  one  class  of  persons 
within  its  borders  from  our  jurisdiction,  it  may  another,  and  all  others,  which 
is  absurd.  I  am  not  here  contending  for  power  on  our  part  to  abolish  slav 
ery,  or  any  other  relation  or  institution  established  by  the  States.  I  am  only 
contending  for  the  right  of  the  sovereign  paramount  to  control  the  persons  of 
all  his  subjects  alike,  in  the  presence  of  which  right  all  the  privileges  and 
disabilities  imparted  by  inferior  power  are  abrogated,  of  course.  And  I  here 
assert  that  this  right  extends  to  all  persons  not  aliens,  the  subjects  of  foreign 
Powers." 

SLAVES  MAY  BY  FIAT  OF  CONGRESS  BECOME  SOLDIERS. 

"  Not  only  on  general  principles  does  this  power  result  to  us  from  the 
relation  of  sovereign  and  subject,  but  the  Constitution,  in  specific  terms,  con 
fers  a  power  for  a  given  purpose,  under  which  we  can  legislate  upon  '  persons 
owing  service '  in  a  manner  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  supposed  rights  of 
the  master  or  parent. 

"  The  eighth  section  of  the  first  article  authorizes  us  '  to  raise  and  support 
armies,'  and  '  to  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  mili 
tia,"  etc.  This  power  of  raising  armies,  and  of  organizing  the  militia,  neces 
sarily  involves  the  power  to  designate  what  persons  shall  constitute  the  army 
or  militia.  We  cannot  legislate  upon  States  ;  and  they  might  fail  to  furnish 
us  with  the  requisite  material  ;  we  do  legislate  in  all  cases  upon  persons,  and 
may  upon  all  persons.  Suppose  that  we  declare  that  all  male  citizens  owning 


134  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Jan.  1862- 

unencumbered  estates  of  the  value  of  $50,000,  shall  constitute  the  militia  ; 
•what  power  could  stand  between  them  and  this  burden  ?  Or,  suppose  that 
we  enact  that  all  male  persons  having  a  visible  admixture  of  African  blood 
shall  compose  this  militia  ;  who  could  interpose  between  us  and  them?" 

MR.  WlCKLiFFE. — I  would  like  to  make  an  inquiry  of 
the  gentleman.  Does  he  contend  that  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment  has  a  right  to  enlist  slaves  in  the  Army  of  the 
United  States  ? 

MR.  RIDDLE.— I  contend  that  it  has  a  right  to  enlist 
"persons  held  to  service."  If  you  call  them  slaves,  they 
are  still  our  subjects. 

MR.  WlCKLiFFE. — The  gentleman  knows  what  I  mean. 

MR.  RIDDLE. — Certainly. 

MR.  WlCKLiFFE. — Do  I  understand  the  gentleman  as 
saying  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  has  a 
a  right  to  enlist  slaves,  or  persons  held  in  service,  in  the 
army. 

MR.  RIDDLE. — I  contend  that  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  may  enlist  persons  owing  service  who  are 
our  subjects. 

MR.  WlCKLiFFE. — Then  I  do  not  wonder  at  the  gentle 
man's  letter  to  his  constituents.1 

MR.  RIDDLE. — I  am  dealing  with  things  in  an  element 
ary  way,  and  quoting  the  language  of  the  Constitution. 
If  persons  owing  service  under  that  Constitution  are 
slaves,  I  answer  unhesitatingly  in  the  affirmative.  I  am 
here  and  everywhere  to  sustain  the  doctrine  as  best  I  can. 

"  If  we  were  to  say  legislatively  '  that  all  native  male  persons  between  the 
ages  of  eighteen  and  forty  years  shall  constitute  the  national  militia  to  be 
enrolled,  organized,  and  disciplined  as  hereinafter  is  provided,'  these  ques 
tions  might  arise  under  it.  A  citizen  of  Pennsylvania  might  say  to  you  : 
1  That  person  whom  you  propose  to  carry  away  to  your  camp  of  instruction, 
is  my  apprentice.  These  are  the  indentures,  in  full  conformity  with  the  laws 
of  this  Commonwealth,  which  give  me  a  full  right  to  his  services  and  the 
full  control  of  his  person  for  a  period  not  yet  expired,  and  impose  upon  me 
heavy  obligations  for  his  personal  well-being,  which  I  cannot  discharge  if  he 
is  taken  from  me.'  And  yet  you  would  march  him  away.  A  citizen  of 

1  Poor  old  Roman.  This  was  too  much  ;  I  had  gained  his  heart  in  the 
Lehman  case.  He  now  gave  me  up. 


Feb.  1862]  SLAVERY  AGAIN.  135 

Massachusetts  tells  you  :  '  That,  gentlemen,  is  my  minor  son  of  lawful  wed 
lock.  The  laws  of  this  State  confirm  to  me  his  person  and  services  until  he 
is  of  the  full  age  of  twenty-one  years  ;  you  cannot  come  between  me  and 
him.'  But  you  oblige  the  minor  son  to  fall  in  at  the  drum-beat.  '  That,' 
says  the  lordly  Virginian,  '  is  my  boy,  born  of  a  slave  mother  on  my  planta 
tion  ;  he  is  my  slave,  my  property,  my  chattel,  don't  touch  him.'  You  have 
taken  from  the  Pennsylvanian  his  apprentice,  and  from  the  Massachusetts 
father  his  minor  son.  Dare  any  man  stand  here  and  declare  that  the  right 
of  the  master  to  his  slave  is  more  sacred  than  the  right  of  the  father  to  his 
son  ?  You  may  take  one  of  these  slaves,  you  may  take  all  of  them,  to  the 
exclusion  of  everybody  else,  for  your  militia,  and  by  this  means  find  a  solu 
tion  of  this  problem  if  you  choose.  This  is  a  power  without  doubt  or  un 
certainty,  pertaining  to  us  all  alike  in  peace  and  in  war,  the  existence  of 
which  cannot  be  gainsaid.  I  thus  find  in  the  relation  of  the  slaves  to  the 
Government  ample  power  under  the  Constitution  to  deal  effectually  with 
their  Status." 

Mr.  Riddle  then  discussed  the  power  to  deal  with 
slavery  as  derived  from  the  state  of  war,  a  power  which 
necessarily  belonged  to  Congress,  where  was  deposited 
all  legislative  power.  In  another  part  of  this  extended 
speech,  he  said : 

"  Sir,  this  thing  of  slavery  was  always  a  religious  and  moral  outlaw,  a 
confessed  and  convicted  felon  with  a  halter  about  its  neck,  invoking  execu 
tion  at  the  hands  of  an  outraged  universe.  Its  only  defence  was  an  alleged 
constitutional  barrier  behind  which  it  was  trenched.  That  barrier  it  has 
itself  broken  down,  and  it  stands  exposed  in  its  hideousness  to  the  assaults 
of  the  human  race  ;  and  who  dares  to  say  that  it  should  not  be  crushed.  I 
believe  that,  in  the  economy  of  God's  government,  the  time  is  fully  come  for 
its  extirpation — that  the  forces  now  moving  the  profound  depths  of  our 
political  compact  will  themselves,  ere  they  are  spent,  work  its  demolition. 
To  that  consummation  I  will  gladly  contribute  ;  and  I  would  now  by  a  wise 
forecast,  so  far  as  may  be,  direct  these  agencies,  so  that  in  their  beneficent 
mission  they  may  work  the  least  amount  of  incidental  harm.  Resist  them 
we  cannot ;  aid  them  I  will.  Do  not  misunderstand  or  misapply  this  remark. 
This  doctrine  is  not  the  teaching  or  practice  of  my  party.  The  sentiment  is 
my  own  ;  and  I  here  declare  that  I  will  now  and  at  all  times  seize  any  op 
portunity  to  strike  slavery  on  its  own  account.  I  will  lift  my  hand  and  ask 
God  for  strength  to  make  that  blow  effectual. 

"Sir,  this  is  an  eminently  practical  and  importunate  matter  ;  you  may 
postpone  this  debate,  but  the  question  not  at  all.  We  deliberate,  as  no 
Congress  under  the  Constitution  ever  before  deliberated,  under  the  very 
muzzles  of  the  enemy's  guns,  prepared  to  thunder  their  inexorable  logic 
upon  this  debated  matter,  leaving  no  doubt  of  their  views  or  policy." 


136  RECOLLECTIONS  OF   WAR    TIMES.     [Jan.  1862- 

Some  pointed  things  were  said  of  the  President  and  his 
policy  of  the  war  ;  of  him  personally  he  spoke  with  tender 
and  lofty  respect : 

"  I  profoundly  respect  and  esteem  him  ;  I  can  comprehend  the  nature  of 
his  fearfully  trying  position  and  its  surroundings  ;  but  I  am  a  representative 
of  the  people,  the  humblest  of  whom  has  a  personal  stake  in  his  country 
equal  to  that  of  the  first  citizen,  and  I  am  to  utter  frankly  the  best  con 
clusions  of  my  judgment.  This  terrible  juncture  requires  not  only  all  the 
strength  of  all  the  people,  but  demands  the  suggestions  of  their  whole  mind 
and  thought,  freely  uttered. 

"I  regret,  greatly  regret,  that,  when  we  first  met,  the  Executive  could 
not  have  indicated  to  us  and  the  country  a  decided  policy.  It  may  have  been 
wiser  to  leave  events  to  hammer  it  out,  but  ultimately  they  will  demonstrate 
to  him  that  the  true  course  lies  along  this  opening  path  which  we  must  pur 
sue,  rugged  and  thorny  though  it  be.  Sir,  our  people  expected  this  of  him, 
and  were  disappointed.  They  are  in  advance  of  the  President ;  in  advance 
of  us.  Their  intuitions  outrun  our  argumentation,  and  they  are  at  home 
long  ere  we  reach  our  tardy  and  halting  conclusions.  The  movement  of  the 
radical  forces  now  in  motion  has  produced  a  radical  movement  of  the  races 
of  men  not  amenable  to  the  laws  of  ordinary  superficial  political  agitation  ; 
it  runs  below.  When  the  President  issued  his  proclamation  for  75,000  men 
to  enforce  his  laws,  the  people  heard  in  it  a  proclamation  of  Omnipotence  to 
enforce  his  laws.  They  felt  as  if  the  divine  hand  were  stretched  down  among 
them,  and  their  hearts  thrilled  under  the  touch  of  the  finger  of  God  !  They 
looked  to  the  President  for  a  leader  ;  they  almost  expected  to  see  him  tower 
up  till  he  caught  a  ray  of  inspiration,  and  became  their  prophet.  They  see 
he  is  no  prophet,  and  fear  that  he  is  no  leader.  He  coldly  and  timidly  seats 
himself  on  the  narrowest  letter  of  the  Constitution,  and  hesitatingly  applies 
its  feeblest  and  shortest  instrumentalities  to  events  bearing  upon  slavery, 
wholly  out  of  its  scope.  These  rebels  have  gone  out  of  and  away  from  the 
Constitution,  and  if  you  would  deal  with  them  you  must  go  out  after  them. 

"  Will  not  gentlemen  comprehend  this?  The  Constitution  is  predicated 
on  the  idea  that  all  the  States  will  remain  in  the  orbits  it  defines,  and  when 
they  break  away  from  these  orbits  it  furnishes  no  remedy.  Under  it  you  may 
arrest,  indict,  and  try  ;  but  these  rebels  have  wrenched  up  and  carried  off 
this  whole  legal  machinery,  and  it  is  cowardly  to  stand  shivering  over  mere 
constitutional  names  when  its  armies  are  gone.  Up  and  after  these  traitors 
with  any  and  all  means.  Like  Milton's  angels,  when  they  encountered  the 
masked  batteries  of  the  seceded  devils,  tear  up  the  mountains,  lift  the  islands 
by  their  tree-tops,  and  overwhelm  them  !  I  revere  and  venerate  the  Consti 
tution,  but  I  love  my  country  a  million  times  more.  The  one  was  formed 
and  may  be  dissolved  by  the  breath  of  men.  The  other  is  the  creation  and 
growth  of  God  ;  and  rather  than  that  mere  constitutional  names  should  stand 


Feb.  1862]  SLAVERY  AGAIN.  137 

in  the  way  of  the  nation's  salvation,  better  a  thousand  times  solemnly  roll 
the  Constitution  up  and  lay  it  reverently  away.  These,  too,  are  not  the 
sentiments  of  my  party." 

He  ridiculed  some  features  of  the  policy  developed  by 
Congress,  which  had  authorized  the  capture  of  rebel 
property  used  in  battle.  A  general  in  the  field  had  been 
disarmed  by  it ;  and  the  Secretary  of  War  rendered 
powerless.  This  was  not  the  President's  fault ;  he  but 
assented  to  it,  to  avoid  discord. 

He  turned  upon  Mr.  Wadsworth  of  Kentucky,  who 
had  threatened  the  Republicans  with  the  secession  of  the 
residue  of  the  border  States.  Complaint  was  made  of 
the  suffering  of  the  loyal  in  those  States,  by  prosecuting 
the  war  in  them  against  the  rebel  armies,  which,  holding 
so  much  of  them,  made  a  wide  area  of  war  and  misrule. 
The  great  trouble  was  the  loss  of  slave  property.  That 
was  the  one  dominating  grief. 

He  demanded : 

"  Shall  the  whole  country  perish  because  its  salvation  would  bring  peculiar 
hardships,  not  to  their  lives  or  persons,  but  to  their  property  alone,  which 
may  be  compensated  for  ?  In  the  name  of  all  that  is  fearful  in  this  exi 
gency,  what  is  it  you  demand  for  them,  and  at  what  a  fearful  hazard  ?  Does 
not  all  this  mean  that  at  all  events  slavery  is  to  be  the  one  thing  not  to 
suffer  ?  Is  it  not  weighing  it  naked  and  alone  against  the  nation,  and  in  a 
doubtful  balance  ?  What  fearful  and  terrible  apprehensions  this  suggests  ! 
And  if  the  time  ever  arrives  in  the  councils  of  the  Executive  to  make  the 
hesitating  choice,  where  will  the  patriots  of  the  border  States  be  found  ? 

"  '  Gentle  Shepherd,  tell  us  where.' 

"  Sir,  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky  [Mr.  Wadsworth]  more  than  answers 
this  inquiry,  and  tells  us  where.  They  will  strike,  doubtingly  and  languidly, 
with  us,  until  we  differ  about  the  mode  of  carrying  on  the  war,  and  then 
against  us.  Be  it  so.  Is  this  the  measure  and  standard  of  a  Kentuckian's 
love  of  country?  Were  all  these  florid  professions  but  painted  bubbles, 
filled  with  tainted  breath  ?  What  does  he  mean  ?  Kentucky  would  remain 
true  to  the  Constitution  and  in  the  Union  ;  but  then,  in  a  given  event,  the 
rebellion  would  '  grow  to  such  proportions  as  to  include  fifteen  States.'  Let 
it  grow  if  it  will.  The  gentleman  may  then  learn,  if  he  is  curious,  whether 
we  can  endure  the  '  smell  of  gunpowder.'  I  represent  the  gentleman  as  I 
understood  him.  Are  these  the  descendants  of  the  Kentuckians  of  1812  ;  of 


138  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.      [Jan.-Feb,  1862 

that  gallant  host  which  came  plunging  through  the  woods  to  our  far-off  in 
vaded  border  ;  which  raised  the  seige  of  Fort  Meigs,  and  aided  us  to  pursue 
and  capture  a  British  army  on  British  soil  ?  Do  not  say  we  are  ungrateful 
for  this,  or  that  we  would  injure  Kentuckians.  Already  thirty-five  thousand 
bayonets  have  gone  sparkling  over  the  dividing  river  from  Ohio  to  prove 
that  we  cannot  forget ;  to  prove  that  we  so  detest  Kentucky  that  we  thrust 
our  brave  and  beautiful  ones  between  her  and  her  foes,  and  give  her  a 
chance  to  rally  her  own  sons.  What  do  gentlemen  mean  by  these  charges 
on  this  floor  ?  Who  is  Garfield,  and  whence  come  his  forty-second  regiment? 
W7ho  is  McCook  and  his  ninth  ?  Where  got  they  their  bayonets  ?  And  whence 
came  Kinney,  who  planted  his  guns  within  sixty  yards  of  murderous  mus 
ketry  ?  And  the  gallant  Standart,  and  the  fragile,  girlish  boy  Wetmore,  with 
his  lion  heart  and  Parrott  guns  ?  All  save  McCook  and  his  ninth  are  from 
my  own  fanatic  region.  Standart  and  his  heroes  are  from  my  own  city,  and 
Wetmore  took  his  men  from  a  single  neighborhood  of  my  district — all  iden 
tical  in  sentiment,  yet  they  asked  no  questions,  they  made  no  conditions,  and 
they  never  will.  The  blood  runs  as  red  and  hot  and  generous  on  the  breezy 
shores  of  Lake  Erie  as  in  a  more  southern  clime.  If  more  men  are  needed, 
there  are  thousands  ready  to  go — take  all.  The  last  heart  shall  beat  and 
break  under  the  war-hoof,  without  question  or  condition.  No  wavering  or 
hesitation  weakens  an  arm  or  checks  the  devotion  of  my  people. 

The  speech  of  sixteen  pages  was  delivered  at  the  darkest 
hour  of  that  dark  winter,  and  an  effort  has  been  here 
made  to  reduce  it  to  the  portions  which  deal  with  the 
most  pressing  demands  of  that  day  then  drawing  to  a 
crisis.  It  closed  thus: 

44  To  nations,  as  to  individuals,  is  given  but  a  single  life  ;  and  its  hopes 
and  opportunities  are  measured  by  the  span  of  its  to-day.  Who  can  say 
when  our  to-day  shall  close?  Even  now  its  hours  seem  to  decline  and 
languish.  The  sands  of  its  minutes  are  crushed  to  impalpable  dust  by  the 
fearful  burdens  rolled  upon  them — burdens  that  we  must  carry,  or  under 
which  we  must  perish."  l 

1  The  moment  a  man  finishes  and  is  thought  not  to  have  failed,  a  page 
approaches,  and,  amid  congratulations,  presents  a  prospectus  to  publish.  It 
was  said  at  the  time  that  this  one  was  so  liberally  subscribed  for  that  the 
edition  would  be  one  of  the  largest  of  the  session.  I  remember  that  Mr. 
McKee  Dunn  (later  General  Dunn),  and  one  or  two  more,  came  to  me  later 
and  said  :  "  Now,  after  the  glamour  and  passion  of  your  speaking  have 
passed,  I  dare  not  send  the  speech  into  my  district ;  I  will  give  you  my  list 
of  names,  and  you  may  send  it  under  your  frank  and  have  my  copies." 
His  constituents  got  the  speech,  and  I  received  many  pleasant  letters 
from  them. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   PRESIDENT'S   ORDER   CONCERNING 
FUGITIVE   SLAVES. 

FEBRUARY,    1 862. 
A  Dinner-Table  Scene — Emancipation  in  the  Senate. 

SOMETIME  in  February  an  outside  matter  caused  a  good 
deal  of  feeling — feeling  largely  directed  against  the  Presi 
dent.  It  was  inevitable,  in  the  disturbed  condition  of 
things  in  Virginia,  that  a  great  many  slaves  should  escape 
and  seek  refuge  in  the  District,  where,  as  they  possibly 
understood,  we  were  threatening  to  free  all  the  slaves. 
The  black  race  had  a  way  of  their  own  of  diffusing  infor 
mation,  by  which  our  Generals  sometimes  profited. 
General  Butler  early  invented  a  convenient  name  for  these 
diffusers  of  news  ;  he  styled  the  slave  "  a  contraband  of 
war,"  and  these  comers  from  beyond  rebel  lines  were  all 
"  reliable  contrabands."  Of  course  slave  property  in 
Maryland  became  unsettled  and  fugacious,  and  we  had 
already  interdicted  the  use  of  the  District  prisons  for  the 
confinement  of  runaway  slaves.  There  came  at  this  time 
from  eastern  Maryland  six  or  seven  slaves  belonging  to  a 
constituent  of  Mr.  Crisfield.  The  President  was  applied 
to  in  the  matter,  and  he  directed  his  marshal,  Ward  H. 
Lammon,  to  arrest  and  deliver  the  slaves  to  their  owner. 
It  was  openly  and  ostentatiously  done  with  proclamation 
and  circumstance. 

139 


140  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [Feb.  1862 

At  this  time  we  were  living  at  Mrs.  Irving's,  on  4^ 
street.  She  was  an  ideal  landlady  and  usually  had  a 
good  class  of  people  in  her  house.  On  this  day  of  the 
returned  bondmen,  I  was  late  at  dinner,  and  reached  the 
dining-room  after  the  soup.  There  was  a  group  of  us  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  table,  where  Senator  Pearce  sat,  in 
a  high  chair,  like  a  boy  on  a  bible,  facing  the  handsome 
and  still  young  landlady.  On  his  left  sat  Dr.  Welling, 
editor  of  the  Intelligencer,  and  next  to  him  was  Calvert, 
of  the  old  Maryland  family,  and  I  think  one  of  the  Ken 
tucky  members  of  Congress  sat  by  him.  On  his  right 
were  Webster  and  Crisfield  of  Maryland,  and  my  seat 
was  next  to  Crisfield.  Above  us  were  ladies,  gentlemen, 
and  one  or  two  children. 

The  thing  had  been  pre-arranged  in  my  group  for  my 
benefit,  as  I  found  later.  I  was  not  talkative  nor  hungry, 
and  was  dallying  with  my  soup,  noticing  that  my  friends 
were  in  unusual  good  spirits.  I  should  say  that  every  day 
these  men  would  discuss  slavery  with  me,  and  I,  like  "  Eve, 
was  nothing  loth,"  and  had  spoken  as  freely  as  at  home  or 
in  the  House.  I  had  no  more  than  gained  my  seat  when 
Crisfield  began  : 

"  I  really  am  coming  to  have  not  only  a  very  great 
confidence  in  President  Lincoln,  but  a  great  deal  of 
admiration  for  him  personally,  and  these  have  been  much 
increased  by  his  conduct  to-day  and  by  what  I  saw  done 
pursuant  to  his  order.' 

I  knew  this  was  intended  for  me,  but  took  no  notice  of 
it ;  it  was  likely  to  fail,  when  Webster,  then  nearly  a 
Republican,  turned  and  asked  :  "  To  what  particular 
thing  do  you  refer  as  happening  to-day,  Mr.  Crisfield?" 

"  The  return  of  —  -'s  slaves.  I  was  present  when 
the  President  issued  the  order  to  the  marshal,  and  I  saw 
the  marshal  when  he  delivered  them  up.  It  was  very 
impressive." 

This  was  quite  too  much.    (He  spoke  as  addressing  me.) 


Feb.  18621     ORDER  CONCERNING  FUGITIVE  SLAVES.      141 

"  Mr.  Crisfield,"  I  said,  "  I  understand  you  stand  high 
as  a  most  exemplary  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
— that  you  are  quite  a  Christian  example." 

"  I  am  an  humble  follower  of  that  faith.  I  pretend  to 
no  special  excellence." 

"  You  must  have  experienced  a  special  religious  exalta 
tion  of  soul,  on  witnessing  this  return  of  these  poor  men 
to  their  hereditary  whipping-post  and  auction-block, 
though  the  time  will  be  sJiort"  I  replied. 

"  I  don't  know,"  he  answered,  a  little  confused,  "  that  I 
felt  any  special  religious  experience." 

The  conversation  had  attracted  general  attention.  I 
felt  at  least  two  pairs  of  large  black  eyes  flashing  down 
upon  me. 

Mr.  Pearce  imperiously  broke  in :  "  The  fugitive-slave 
law  places  every  man  at  the  command  of  the  marshal,  to 
aid  in  the  actual  seizure  and  delivery  of  slaves.  What 
would  you  do,  Mr.  Riddle,  what  could  you  say,  if  you  were 
called  upon  under  the  law  by  a  marshal  to  take  and  deliver 
up  these  slaves?  " 

"  Mr.  Pearce,"  turning  upon  him,  "  you  have  no  busi 
ness  to  ask  me  that  question  here.  But  you  have,  and  I 
will  put  an  end  to  this  catechism.  Much  as  I  have  es 
teemed  and  respected  you,  before  I  would  in  any  way  aid 
in  returning  a  slave  to  you,  I  would  shoot  you  dead  where 
you  sit,"  with  the  emphasis  of  my  extended  arm  shaking 
a  finger  in  his  face.  I  heard  a  dropping  of  knives  and 
forks,  and  there  were  several  seconds  of  frozen  silence. 
The  old  senator  was  a  duelist,  and  had  a  grown  son  ;  his 
face  became  ghastly  at  the  defiance — a  moment,  then  it 
broke  into  a  crackled  smile,  like  a  shattered  earthen  vase. 
"  Mr.  Riddle,"  he  said,  "  we  have  all  respected  and  ad 
mired  you  as  a  man  of  courage  and  spirit.  Your  spirit  is 
a  little  more  than  the  occasion  requires,  perhaps,  but  you 
have  answered  as  a  gentleman  should.  //  is  not  the  busi 
ness  of  a  gentleman  to  handle  slaves" 


142  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Feb.  1862 

"  Mr.  Pearce,"  I  replied,  "  I  have  no  apology  for  my 
warmth ;  and  I  have  only  to  say  that  at  the  north  we 
have  no  property  tJiat  a  gentleman  may  not  handle" 

Some  months  later  when  the  old  cavalier  passed  away, 
Crisfield  and  others  asked  me  to  speak  of  him  in  the 
House,  and  I  did. 

We  in  the  House  attempted  to  instruct  the  Judiciary 
Committee  to  report  a  bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Act,  but  failed.  The  resolution  was  laid  on  the 
table  by  a  vote  of  sixty-six  to  fifty-one.  We  did  pass, 
by  a  vote  of  seventy-seven  to  forty-three,  a  resolution  to 
report  a  bill  requiring  a  trial  by  jury  to  establish  the 
fugitive's  status. 

YEAS.— Aldrich,  Alley,  Arnold,  Ashley,  Babbitt,  Baker, 
Baxter,  Beaman,  Bingham,  Francis  P.  Blair,  Blake,  Buffin- 
ton,  Burnham,  Chamberlin,  Colfax,  Frederick  A.  Conkling, 
Davis,  Dawes,  Delano,  Diven,  Edgerton,  Edwards,  Eliot, 
Ely,  Franchot,  Gooch,  Goodwin,  Granger,  Gurley,  Haight, 
Hale,  Hanchett,  Hutchins,  Julian,  Kelley,  Francis  W. 
Kellogg,  William  Kellogg,  Lansing,  Loomis,  Lovejoy, 
Low,  McKnight,  McPherson,  Mitchell,  Anson  P.  Merrill, 
Justin  S.  Morrill,  Nixon,  Timothy  G.  Phelps,  Pike,  Pom- 
eroy,  Porter,  Potter,  Alexander  H.  Rice,  John  H.  Rice, 
Riddle,  Edward  H.  Rollins,  Sargent,  Shanks,  Sheffield, 
Shellabarger,  Sloan,  Spaulding,  Stevens,  Stratton,  Ben 
jamin  F.  Thomas,  Train,  Trimble,  Trowbridge,  Van  Val- 
kenburgh,  Verree,  Wall,  Wallace,  Washburne,  Albert  S. 
White,  Wilson,  Windom,  and  Worcester — 77. 

NAYS. — William  J.  Allen,  Ancona,  Baily,  Biddle,  Jacob 
B.  Blair,  William  G.  Brown,  Calvert,  Casey,  Clements, 
Cobb,  Corning,  Crittenden,  Fouke,  Grider,  Harding, 
Holman,  Johnson,  Knapp,  Maynard,  Menzies,  Noble, 
Noel,  Norton,  Pendleton,  John  S.  Phelps,  Richardson, 
Robinson,  James  S.  Rollins,  Segar,  Shiel,  Smith,  John  B. 
Steele,  William  G.  Steele,  Francis  Thomas,  Vallandigham, 
Vibbard,  Voorhees,  Wadsworth,  Webster,  Chilton  A. 
White,  Wickliffe,  Wood,  and  Wright— 43. 


Feb.  1862]     ORDER  CONCERNING  FUGITIVE  SLAVES.      143 

The  House  governs  the  United  States,  and  this  vote 
was  significant.  As  stated,  my  colleague  Hutchins  intro 
duced  a  bill  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  A  bill  for  that  purpose  was  about  the  same 
time  also  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Wilson. 

The  main  features  of  the  bills  were  to  free  all  persons 
of  African  descent,  held  to  labor  in  the  District ;  owners, 
if  loyal,  to  be  compensated  in  sums  not  exceeding  $300 
for  each  slave,  on  proof  of  their  loyalty  and  of  the  value 
of  their  slaves.  Commissioners,  to  be  appointed  by  the 
President,  were  to  hear  applicants  on  sworn  petitions,  and 
award  compensation.  A  million  was  appropriated. 

The  bills  were  very  fully  discussed  in  both  Houses. 
Mr.  McDougall,  an  exceptionally  able  Senator,  spoke  in 
part  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  President,  I  regard  this  measure,  as  I  have  regarded  all  measures 
bearing  upon  the  same  subject  introduced  into  this  Senate,  as  inopportune 
at  this  time.  In  saying  that  I  regard  them  as  inopportune,  I  intend  to 
express  no  opinion  as  to  their  several  merits.  There  are  many  measures  that 
I  would  vote  against  at  this  session  of  Congress  on  the  ground  that  this  was 
not  the  time  to  present  or  consider  them.  This  I  regard  as  one  of  those 
inopportune  measures,  not  necessarily,  however,  as  governing  my  conduct 
in  the  same  direction. 

"  Again,  sir,  I  think  that  during  this  session  of  Congress  there  have  been 
hurried  upon  the  Senate  imperfect,  unmatured  measures,  measures  under 
taking  to  administer  vast  interests,  which  in  any  other  council  of  Govern 
ment  where  laws  were  to  be  established  would  have  commanded  the  gravest 
and  most  deliberate  consideration  and  complete  and  exact  legislation.  A 
great  deal  of  immature  legislation  has  been  presented  for  our  action,  and  of 
those  measures,  this  bill,  as  it  is  presented  to  the  Senate,  is  a  specimen. 

"  As  for  the  power  of  Congress  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Co 
lumbia,  I  think  there  cannot,  at  this  time,  be  any  question.  That  the  power 
belongs  to  this  Congress,  to  the  Government  here,  I  think  is  unquestionable 
as  a  question  of  power.  Slavery  is  a  creature  of  positive  law  ;  and  when  the 
law  whereby  the  master  has  the  right  of  manumission,  the  right  of  power 
over  the  subject  slaves  is  repealed,  slavery  ceases.  That  is  unquestionably 
the  law.  We  have  the  general  administration  of  the  laws  of  the  District. 
We  have  the  right,  that  is,  the  legal  right,  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District 
at  any  time  we  please.  This  cannot  be  matter  of  argument.  I  have  no 
scruples  or  trouble  on  that  subject. 

"  But,  sir,  as  I  have  had  occasion  to  say  frequently  in  the  Senate,  I  have 


144  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES,         [Feb.  1862 

thought  it  wise  that  all  these  disturbing  questions  should  be  postponed  to 
some  time  after  we  have  conquered  our  imminent  difficulties.  When  we 
have  disposed  of  the  enemies  of  the  Republic  arrayed  against  us  in  the  field,  in 
the  effort  to  accomplish  which  we  want  all  the  united  opinion  we  can  bring  to 
bear  about  and  in  support  of  the  Government ;  when  with  that  united  opin 
ion  we  have  hurled  down  treason  and  re-established  the  power  of  the  Gov 
ernment  through  the  Union,  then  would  be  the  time  to  take  up  and  consider 
these  matters  of  local  legislation  which  have  been  thrust  on  us  with  such 
great  haste. 

"  Now,  so  far  as  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  is  concerned,  it  is  a 
positive  evil.  I  know  it.  We  all  know  it.  We  have  neither  free  labor  nor 
slave  labor  in  the  District.  WTe  have  neither  the  benefit  of  one  system  nor 
the  other.  We  are  hybrid  in  our  relation  to  service  of  any  kind,  or  the  em 
ployment  of  labor  here.  This  is  an  evil  that  ought  to  be  corrected.  While 
this  is  my  opinion,  it  is  also  my  opinion  that  this  is  not  the  time  to  correct 
it.  Whenever  the  proper  time  had,  in  my  judgment,  come  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  District,  I  would  have  been  found  its  earnest  advocate.  I 
would  have  avoided  it  now  ;  but  as  it  is  brought  forward,  I  will  meet  it 
to-day.  I  am  for  meeting  it,  however,  as  wisely  as  I  can.  I  am  not  for 
inconsiderate  measures  calculating  none  of  the  contingencies  that  belong 
to  such  important  legislation. 

"  This  bill,  as  it  is  now  presented,  is  a  simple  declaration  of  the  immediate 
right  of  all  persons  held  to  service  and  labor  in  the  District  to  be  manu 
mitted.  In  the  first  place,  apart  from  its  operation  on  the  individual  rights 
of  owners,  and  saying  nothing  of  that,  one  patent  fact  is,  that  according  to 
the  latest  statistical  information  we  have,  there  are  sixteen  hundred  persons 
held  to  service  in  the  District  under  fifteen  and  over  fifty  years  of  age — 
persons  who,  either  from  youth  or  old  age,  are  unfit  and  unable  to  maintain 
themselves.  How  does  this  measure,  said  to  be  a  beneficent  measure,  pro 
vide  for  them  ?  By  the  law  now  in  force  the  old  and  young  have  a  legal 
right  to  protection  and  support  from  the  persons  who  hold  them.  There  are 
sixteen  hundred  of  them  who  will  be  immediately  set  free  by  this  bill,  and 
all  the  relations  between  master  and  servant  immediately  dissolved.  Did 
not  the  gentlemen  who  projected  this  bill  consider  that  the  moment  they 
pass  this  law,  they  must  provide — if  not  in  this  bill — for  establishing  places 
and  providing  clothing,  subsistence,  and  the  entire  support  of  about  sixteen 
hundred  persons  in  this  District,  on  account  of  their  youth  or  old  age,  inde 
pendent  of  those  who  may  be,  from  disease  or  other  causes,  unable  to  sus 
tain  themselves.  Are  we  prepared  to  build  an  establishment  here  larger 
than  our  Treasury  building,  larger  and  more  extensive  than  our  Treasury 
and  our  Post-Office  buildings,  as  quarters  for  the  young,  old,  and  indigent, 
besides  assuming  the  burden  of  their  clothing,  subsistence,  and  manage 
ment  ?  " 

Mr.  Sumner  said : 


Feb.  1862]     ORDER  CONCERNING  FUGITIVE  SLAVES.      145 

"  Mr.  President,  with  unspeakable  delight  I  hail  this  measure  and  the 
prospect  of  its  speedy  adoption.  It  is  the  first  installment  of  that  great  debt 
which  we  all  owe  to  an  enslaved  race,  and  will  be  recognized  in  history  as 
one  of  the  victories  of  humanity.  At  home  throughout  our  own  country,  it 
will  be  welcomed  with  gratitude  ;  while  abroad  it  will  quicken  the  hopes  of 
all  who  love  freedom.  Liberal  institutions  will  gain  everywhere  by  the 
abolition  of  slavery  at  the  national  capital.  Nobody  can  read  that  slaves 
were  once  sold  in  the  markets  of  Rome,  beneath  the  eyes  of  the  sovereign 
Pontiff,  without  confessing  the  scandal  to  religion,  even  in  a  barbarous  age  ; 
and  nobody  can  hear  that  slaves  are  now  sold  in  the  markets  of  Washington, 
"beneath  the  eyes  of  the  President,  without  confessing  the  scandal  to  liberal 
institutions.  For  the  sake  of  our  good  name,  if  not  for  the  sake  of  justice, 
let  the  scandal  disappear. 

"  In  early  discussions  of  this  question  there  were  many  topics  introduced 
which  now  command  little  attention.  It  was  part  of  the  tactics  of  slavery 
to  claim  absolute  immunity.  Indeed,  without  such  immunity  it  had  small 
chance  of  continued  existence.  Such  a  wrong,  so  utterly  outrageous,  could  find 
safety  only  where  it  was  protected  from  inquiry.  Therefore  slave-masters 
always  insisted  that  the  petitions  against  its  existence  at  the  National  Capital 
were  not  to  be  received  ;  that  it  was  unconstitutional  to  touch  it  even  here 
within  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  Congress  ;  and  that  if  it  were  touched,  it 
should  be  only  under  the  auspices  of  the  neighboring  States  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland.  On  these  points  elaborate  arguments  were  constructed  ;  but  it  is 
useless  to  consider  them  now.  Whatever  may  be  the  opinions  of  individual 
Senators,  the  judgment  of  the  country  is  fixed.  The  right  of  petition,  first 
vindicated  by  the  matchless  perseverance  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  is  now 
beyond  question,  and  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  is  hardly  less 
free  from  doubt.  It  is  enough  to  say  on  this  point,  that  if  Congress  cannot 
abolish  slavery  here,  'then  there  is  no  power  to  abolish  it  here,  and  this  wrong 
will  endure  always,  immortal  as  the  Capital  itself. 

"  But  as  the  moment  of  justice  approaches  we  are  called  to  meet  a  differ 
ent  objection,  inspired  by  generous  sentiments.  It  is  argued  that  since 
there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  property  in  man,  especially  within  the  ex 
clusive  jurisdiction  of  Congress,  therefore  all  now  held  as  slaves  at  the 
national  capital  are  justly  entitled  to  freedom,  without  price  or  compensation 
of  any  kind  to  masters  ;  or,  at  least,  that  any  money  paid  should  be  dis 
tributed  according  to  an  account  stated  between  masters  and  slaves.  Of 
course,  if  this  question  were  determined  according  to  divine  justice,  so  far  as 
we  may  be  permitted  to  look  in  that  direction,  it  is  obvious  that  nothing  can 
be  due  to  the  masters,  and  that  any  money  paid  belongs  rather  to  the  slaves, 
who  for  generations  have  been  despoiled  of  their  rights  and  possession.  But 
if  we  undertake  to  audit  this  fearful  account,  pray  what  sum  shall  be  allowed 
for  the  prolonged  torments  of  the  lash  ?  What  treasure  shall  be  voted  to 
the  slave  for  wife  ravished  from  his  side,  for  children  stolen,  for  knowledge 
shut  out,  and  for  all  the  fruits  of  labor  wrested  from  him  and  his  fathers  ? 


146  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        LFeb.  1862 

No  such  account  can  be  stated.  It  is  impossible.  If  you  once  begin  the 
inquiry,  all  must  go  to  the  slave.  It  only  remains  for  Congress,  anxious  to 
secure  this  great  boon,  and  unwilling  to  embarrass  or  jeopard  it,  to  act 
practically  according  to  its  finite  powers,  in  the  light  of  existing  usages,  and 
even  existing  prejudices,  under  which  these  odious  relations  have  assumed 
the  form  of  law  ;  nor  must  we  hesitate  at  any  forbearance  or  sacrifice,  pro 
vided  freedom  can  be  established  without  delay. 

"  Testimony  and  eloquence  have  both  been  accumulated  against  slavery  ; 
but  on  this  occasion  I  shall  confine  myself  precisely  to  the  argument  for  the 
ransom  of  slaves  at  the  national  capital  ;  although  such  is  slavery  that  it  is 
impossible  to  consider  it  in  any  single  aspect  without  confronting  its  whole 
many-sided  wickedness,  while  the  broad,  diversified  field  of  remedies  is 
naturally  open  to  review.  But  at  some  other  time  the  great  question  of 
emancipation  in  the  States  may  be  more  fitly  considered,  together  with  those 
other  questions  in  which  the  Senator  from  Wisconsin  {.Mr.  Doolittle]  has 
allowed  himself  to  take  sides  so  earnestly,  whether  there  is  an  essential  in 
compatibility  between  the  two  races,  so  that  they  cannot  live  together  except 
as  master  and  slave,  and  whether  the  freedman  shall  be  encouraged  to  exile 
himself  to  other  lands  or  to  continue  his  labor  here  at  home.  It  is  surely 
enough  for  the  present  to  consider  slavery  at  the  national  capital  ;  and  here 
we  are  met  by  two  inquiries  so  frankly  addressed  to  the  Senate  by  the  clear 
headed  Senator  from  Kansas  [Mr.  Pomeroy]  :  First,  Has  slavery  any  consti 
tutional  existence  at  the  national  capital?  and,  secondly,  Shall  money  be  paid 
to  secure  its  abolition  ?  The  answer  to  these  two  inquiries  will  make  our 
duty  clear.  If  slavery  has  no  constitutional  existence  here,  then  more  than 
ever  is  Congress  bound  to  interfere,  even  with  money  ;  for  the  scandal  must 
be  peremptorily  stopped,  without  any  postponement  or  any  consultation  of 
the  people  on  a  point  which  is  not  within  their  power. 

"  It  may  be  said  that,  whether  slavery  be  constitutional  or  not,  neverthe 
less  it  exists,  and  therefore  this  inquiry  is  superfluous.  True  it  exists,  as  a 
monstrous  fact ;  but  it  is  none  the  less  important  to  consider  its  origin,  that 
we  may  understand  how,  assuming  the  form  of  law,  it  was  able  to  shelter 
itself  beneath  the  protecting  shield  of  the  Constitution.  And  when  we 
shall  see  clearly  that  it  is  without  any  such  just  protection,  that  the  law 
which  declares  it  is  baseless,  and  that  in  all  its  pretensions  it  is  essentially 
brutal  and  unnatural,  we  shall  have  less  consideration  for  the  slave  tyranny, 
which,  in  satisfied  pride,  has  thus  far — not  without  compunction  at  different 
moments — ruled  the  national  capital,  reducing  all  things  here — public  opin 
ion,  social  life,  and  even  the  administration  of  justice — to  its  own  degraded 
standard,  so  as  to  fulfil  the  curious  words  of  an  English  poet : 

"  '  It  serves,  yet  reigns  as  King  ; 
It  lives,  yet  's  death  ;  it  pleases  full  of  paine. 
Monster  !  ah  !  who,  who  can  their  being  faigne  ? 
Thou  shapelesse  shape,  live  death,  paine  pleasing,  servile  reign.' 


Feb.  1862]     ORDER  CONCERNING  FUGITIVE  SLAVES.      147 

"It  is  true  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  property  in  man  ;  and  here  I 
begin  to  answer  the  questions  propounded  by  the  Senator  from  Kentucky 
[Mr.  Davis]. 

44  To  all  who  insist  that  Congress  may  sustain  slavery  in  the  national  Capi 
tal,  I  put  the  question,  where  in  the  Constitution  is  the  power  found  ?  If 
you  cannot  show  where,  do  not  assert  the  power.  So  hideous  an  effrontery 
must  be  authorized  in  unmistakable  words.  But  where  are  the  words  ?  In 
what  article,  clause,  or  line  ?  They  cannot  be  found.  Do  not  insult  human 
nature  by  pretending  that  its  most  cherished  rights  can  be  sacrificed  without 
solemn  authority.  Remember  that  every  presumption  and  every  leaning 
must  be  in  favor  of  freedom  and  against  slavery.  Do  not  forget  that  no 
nice  interpretation,  no  strained  construction,  no  fancied  deduction,  can  suf 
fice  to  sanction  the  enslavement  of  our  fellow-men.  And  do  not  degrade 
the  Constitution  by  foisting  into  its  blameless  text  the  idea  of  property  in 
man.  It  is  not  there  ;  and  if  you  think  you  see  it  there,  it  is  simply  be 
cause  you  make  the  Constitution  a  reflection  of  yourself.  .  .  ." 

Mr.  Sumner  spoke  on  full  preparation  and  with  his  usual 
felicity.  He  closed  thus  : 

"  Let  this  bill  pass,  and  the  first  practical  triumph  of  freedom,  for  which 
good  men  have  longed,  dying  without  the  sight,  for  which  a  whole  genera 
tion  has  petitioned,  and  for  which  orators  and  statesmen  have  pleaded,  will 
at  last  be  accomplished.  Slavery  will  be  banished  from  the  national  capital. 
This  metropolis,  which  bears  a  venerated  name,  will  be  purified  ;  its  evil 
spirit  will  be  cast  out  ;  its  shame  will  be  removed  ;  its  society  will  be 
refined  ;  its  courts  will  be  made  better  ;  its  revolting  ordinances  will  be 
swept  away  ;  and  even  its  loyalty  will  be  secured.  If  not  moved  by  justice 
to  the  slave,  then  be  willing  to  act  for  your  own  good  and  in  self-defence. 
If  you  hesitate  to  pass  this  bill  for  the  blacks,  then  pass  it  for  the  whites. 
Nothing  is  clearer  than  that  the  degradation  of  slavery  affects  the  master  as 
much  as  the  slave  ;  while  recent  events  testify,  that  wherever  slavery  exists, 
there  treason  lurks,  if  it  does  not  flaunt.  From  the  beginning  of  this  rebel 
lion  slavery  has  been  constantly  manifest  in  the  conduct  of  the  masters,  and 
even  here  in  the  national  capital,  it  has  been  the  traitorous  power  which  has 
encouraged  and  strengthened  the  enemy.  This  power  must  be  suppressed 
at  every  cost,  and  if  its  suppression  here  endangers  slavery  elsewhere,  there 
will  be  a  new  motive  for  determined  action. 

"  Amidst  all  present  solicitudes,  the  future  cannot  be  doubtful.  At  the 
national  capital  slavery  will  give  way  to  freedom  ;  but  the  good  work  will 
not  stop  here.  It  must  proceed.  What  God  and  nature  decree,  rebellion 
cannot  arrest.  And  as  the  whole  wide-spread  tyranny  begins  to  tumble, 
then,  above  the  din  of  battle,  sounding  from  the  sea  and  echoing  along  the 
land,  above  even  the  exaltations  of  victory  on  well-fought  fields,  will  ascend 


148  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.       [Feb.  1862 

voices  of  gladness  and  benediction,  swelling  from  generous  hearts  wherever 
civilization  bears  sway,  to  commemorate  a  sacred  triumph,  whose  trophies, 
instead  of  tattered  banners,  will  be  ransomed  slaves." 

Mr.  Davis  (of  Kentucky)  spoke  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  President,  I  have  had  some  experience  in  legislation,  and  I 
have  always  made  it  a  principle  to  guide  my  course,  that  where  a  measure 
was  objectionable  to  me  and  I  intended  to  vote  against  it,  still  I  would 
vote  for  every  proposition  of  amendment  which,  in  my  judgment,  would 
improve  it  and  make  it  less  objectionable.  It  was  in  conformity  to  that 
principle  that  I  voted  for  the  amendment  proposed  by  the  Senator  from 
Wisconsin  [Mr.  Doolittle]  to  the  amendment  I  had  the  honor  of  offering  to 
the  Senate,  and  then  voted  for  the  amendment  as  amended  ;  but  at  the  same 
time  it  was  my  purpose  to  vote  against  the  bill  on  the  question  of  its  final 
passage,  because,  even  as  amended,  I  thought  the  bill  was  subject  to  much 
more  of  objection  than  approval.  I  do  not  consider  that  there  is  anything 
wrong  in  that  mode  of  legislation.  A  measure  may  be  likely  to  pass  a 
deliberative  assembly,  and  a  man  may  be  opposed  to  the  whole  principle  of 
it  and  to  its  general  provisions,  yet  if,  in  his  judgment,  there  be  amendments 
offered  which  will  improve  the  bill,  he  may  fairly  and  honorably  vote  for 
those  amendments,  and  then  vote  against  the  bill.  I  make  this  explanation 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  my  true  position  in  relation  to  the  matter. 

"  Mr.  President,  I  am  opposed  to  this  bill,  and  I  shall  proceed  to  give 
some  reasons  upon  which  I  base  my  opposition  to  it.  The  reason  and  the 
judgment  of  men  constitute  a  very  curious  subject  of  study.  We  conceive  a 
project  beforehand.  We  have  a  favorite  purpose  or  end  to  subserve,  and, 
instead  of  honestly  and  in  good  faith  hunting  for  truth  and  for  principle  and 
testing  the  validity  and  the  propriety  of  our  project  or  our  ends  by  truth  and 
principle,  we  endeavor  to  wrest  truth  and  principle,  and  do  violence  to  both 
by  bringing  them  to  the  support  of  our  theories  and  our  acts.  I  am  as  much 
subject  to  this  error  as  any  other  gentleman.  It  is  a  very  common  one,  so 
much  so  as  to  be  almost  universal.  But,  sir,  I  shall  endeavor  to  ascertain 
the  true  principles  and  the  facts  of  the  case  that  apply  to  the  proposition  now 
under  consideration,  and  by  that  standard  I  shall  endeavor  to  try  and  to  test 
the  proposition  itself  which  is  involved  in  the  bill.  .  .  . 

"  The  Senator  from  Kansas  [Mr.  Pomeroy]  took  the  position  that  there 
was  no  law  in  the  District  of  Columbia  that  sanctioned  or  recognized  the  ex 
istence  of  slavery.  I  think  that  that  is  a  very  erroneous  position.  What 
law  is  there  that  declares  that  any  particular  thing  shall  be  the  subject  of 
property  ?  What  law  is  there  in  any  of  the  States  of  the  Union  that  declares 
that  land,  or  horses,  or  any  other  description  of  property  which  is  recognized 
by  usage,  shall  be  property  ?  There  is  none.  You  will  find  in  the  bodies  of 
the  different  States  various  acts  that  recognize  property  in  particular  things 
by  name.  So  it  is  in  relation  to  land  ;  so  it  is  in  relation  to  horses  ;  and  so 


Feb.  18621     ORDER  CONCERNING  FUGITIVE  SLAVES.      149 

it  is  in  relation  to  slaves  and  many  other  subjects.  The  origin  of  the  law  by 
which  property  was  established  in  these  various  subjects  grew  out  of  the 
usages,  practice,  and  uniform  custom  of  the  civilized  world.  There  is  the 
origin  and  sanction  of  property  in  every  subject  of  property,  and  that  sanc 
tion  exists  in  relation  to  slaves  as  undeniably  as  it  does  in  relation  to  lands, 
horses,  or  any  other  subject,  and  I  shall  proceed  to  prove  it. 

"  The  Constitution  itself  recognizes  this  property  in  providing  that  Con 
gress  may  pass  laws  to  reclaim  fugitive  slaves,  or  persons  who  are  fugitives 
to  whose  service  other  persons  have  the  right.  The  Government  of  the 
United  States  and  the  States  themselves  have  in  many  cases  recognized 
property  in  slaves.  I  will  mention  a  single  instance.  In  the  war  of  1812 
the  British  forces  invaded  this  District  and  portions  of  Maryland  and  Vir 
ginia,  and  they  deported  from  the  country  a  large  number  of  slaves.  By  the 
terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent  our  Government  assumed  that  those  slaves 
were  to  be  paid  for  by  the  English  Government.  The  English  Government 
controverted  the  proposition  ;  and  the  question,  together  with  the  amount  to 
be  paid,  was  submitted  to  the  arbitration  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  awarded  in  favor  of  the  United  States  for  those  deported 
slaves  about  $1,250,000,  or  something  like  that  amount." 

Mr.  Davis  had  been  a  man  of  much  eminence  in  Ken 
tucky,  and  in  Congress,  where  he  served  as  long  as  he 
would  accept  a  nomination.  He  was  an  old  time  Whig, 
and,  as  such,  was  elected  to  succeed  Breckinridge.  He 
was  a  great  speech-maker,  but  hardly  met  the  needs  of 
the  time  and  added  little  to  his  reputation. 

Mr.  Browning  came  to  the  Senate  with  a  national  repu 
tation  as  an  advocate  and  lawyer,  and  at  once  took  rank 
with  the  ablest  debaters  of  that  body. 

Mr.  Browning,  as  follows  : 

"  I  do  not  doubt  at  all,  Mr.  President,  the  constitutional  power  to  pass 
this  bill.  It  is  a  question  that  has  on  some  former  occasions  been  before 
Congress  for  its  consideration,  perhaps  not  unfrequently  at  times,  from  the 
organization  of  Government  until  the  present  day.  I  have  taken  some  pains 
to  look  back  into  the  records  of  congressional  proceedings,  and  I  find  that 
on  every  occasion  when  this  proposition  has  been  made  it  has  been  very 
earnestly  resisted  by  some  portion  of  the  representatives  of  the  slave  States  ; 
but  I  have  not  found  in  any  one  instance  that  opposition  has  been  made  to 
it  on  the  ground  of  a  want  of  constitutional  power  to  pass  the  measure,  but 
upon  grounds  of  expediency  alone.  I  have  never  myself  doubted  the  exist 
ence  of  the  power  in  Congress  under  the  Constitution  to  pass  this  or  any 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [Feb.  1862 

other  legislative  measure  affecting  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  grant  of 
power  is  as  broad  and  ample  as  it  is  possible  for  our  language  to  make  it. 
Therefore,  we  have  no  difficulty  at  all  on  the  score  of  the  power  of  Congress 
to  adopt  the  measure. 

"I  do  not  think,  Mr.  President,  that  our  friends  who  differ  from  us  in  their 
views  upon  this  bill  have  any  cause  of  complaint  that  we  choose  to  exercise 
a  power  which  we  may  constitutionally  exercise.  They  may  differ  from  us 
upon  the  ground  of  expediency  ;  but  in  reference  to  a  matter  of  expediency, 
each  one  must  form  his  own  judgment  for  himself  ;  and  it  certainly  ought  to 
constitute  no  ground  of  complaint  on  the  part  of  anybody  that  we  differ 
from  him  in  our  views  as  to  the  time  when  the  measure  is  expedient,  and  the 
manner  of  executing  the  measure.  .  .  . 

I  have  no  intention  of  going  into  any  lengthy  discussion  of  the  question. 
There  have  been  two  or  three  different  suggestions  made  connected  with  this 
bill,  all  of  which  are,  perhaps,  entitled  to  consideration.  Compensation  of 
masters  this  bill  itself  provides  for  ;  compensation  of  the  slaves  has  been  sug 
gested  in  another  quarter  ;  and  colonization  of  the  manumitted  slaves  in 
another.  I  intend  submitting  an  amendment  which  to  some  extent  com 
bines  all  these  three  different  ideas  and  measures ;  and  I  beg  leave  to  state 
that  this  amendment  did  not  originate  with  me — that  is,  the  idea  of  it  did 
not  originate  with  me — but  it  was  suggested  to  me  by  one  of  the  most  respect 
able  and  influential  citizens  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  who  has  resided 
here,  I  believe,  the  whole  of  his  life,  and  who  is  a  slave-holder,  a  man  of 
very  great  intelligence,  who  has  thought  much  on  this  subject.  He  sug 
gested  to  me  the  propriety  of  the  amendment  which  I  am  about  to  submit 
for  the  consideration  of  the  Senate.  I  do  not  know  that  it  will  meet  with 
favor  from  anybody  but  myself.  It  does  meet  my  own  views  of  what 
would  perhaps  be  a  wise  amendment  to  make  to  the  amendment  of  the 
Senator  from  New  Hampshire.  .  .  ." 

He  offered  an  amendment  looking  to  a  provision  for  the 
freedmen. 

"  The  compensation  that  is  made  under  this  amendment  to  the  owners  of 
the  slaves,  falls  little  below  the  compensation  that  would  be  made  by  the 
amendment  of  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire,  or  the  original  bill.  In 
addition  to  that,  it  offers  an  inducement  to  manumitted  slaves  to  colonize 
themselves,  to  migrate  to  some  country  outside  of  the  United  States  ;  and, 
upon  so  doing,  they  are  to  receive  some  compensation — that  would  meet  the 
views  of  the  Senator  from  Kansas — for  their  past  services.  It  combines 
these  two  objects.  It  certainly  offers  an  inducement  for  voluntary  emigra 
tion  and  colonization  and  will,  perhaps,  be  more  likely  to  result  in  the  begin 
ning  of  a  system  of  that  sort  than  any  proposition  that  has  yet  been  suggested. 
I  may  add,  further,  that  the  aggregate  expense  to  the  Government,  I  think, 


Feb.  18621     ORDER  CONCERNING  FUGITIVE  SLAVES.      I$I 

will  not  be  at  all  increased  by  this  proposition.  The  $1,000,000  appropri 
ated  by  the  bill,  will,  in  my  judgment,  be  entirely  adequate  to  meet  all  the 
exigencies  and  all  the  demands  that  will  arise  under  the  bill  if  this  amend 
ment  should  be  adopted  ;  for,  if  it  should  pass,  some  will  die,  some  will  not 
desire  to  emigrate,  and  so  far  as  they  do  not  emigrate  there  will  be  nothing 
to  be  paid  ;  so  that  there  would  be  a  diminution  of  the  appropriation  on  the 
one  hand,  while  there  is  no  apparent  increase  of  it  upon  the  other.  The 
measure  gives  to  the  owners  of  slaves  at  present  very  nearly  as  large  a  com 
pensation  as  the  original  bill  proposed.  As  I  have  already  remarked,  the 
amendment  was  suggested  to  me  and  urged  upon  my  consideration  by  a  most 
intelligent  slaveholder  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  it  commended  itself 
to  my  judgment  and  my  approval  upon  his  assurance  that  if  this  proposition 
were  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  he  entertained  no 
doubt  that  it  would  receive  the  endorsement  of  a  very  large  majority  of 
them." 

Colonization  was  a  favorite  idea  with  the  President  as 
with  Mr.  Browning,  although  many  of  us  apprehended 
that,  if  planted  by  themselves,  in  a  sub-tropical  region,  the 
emancipated  would  sink  into  barbarism. 

There  was  also  pending  in  both  Houses  a  joint  resolu 
tion,  introduced  under  a  special  message  of  the  President, 
to  aid  the  people  of  the  border  States  who  might  wish  to 
free  their  slaves,  with  appropriations  by  Congress ;  and  the 
discussion  of  the  emancipation  bill  of  the  district  often 
enlarged  itself  and  embraced  both  resolutions.  Mr.  Willey 
of  West  Virginia  interrupted  Mr.  Fessenden  in  a  speech 
on  this  broad  subject. 

MR.  WILLEY. — "  I  will  say  to  the  Senator  that  I,  with  all  my  feeble 
powers,  in  the  centre  of  secession,  at  the  risk  of  my  personal  safety,  have  said 
that  it  was  no  part  of  the  purpose  of  the  Republican  party  to  interfere  with 
the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  southern  States.  It  has  been  the  labor  of 
my  life  for  eighteen  months  past  to  disabuse  the  public  mind  of  the  South  on 
that  point." 

MR.  FESSENDEN. — "  Mr.  President,  that  the  Republican  party  would 
rejoice  to  see  slavery  abolished  everywhere,  that  they  would  rejoice  if  it  no 
longer  existed,  that  they  feel  it  to  be  a  blot  upon  our  fair  institutions  and  a 
curse  to  the  country,  there  is  no  doubt.  I  can  answer,  for  one,  that  has  been 
my  opinion  always,  and  I  have  expressed  it  here  and  elsewhere  ;  but,  sir,  I 
have  held,  and  I  hold  to-day,  and  I  say  to-day  what  I  have  said  in  my  place 
before,  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  or  the  people  of  the  United 


152  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.        [Feb.  1862 

States  through  Congress,  under  the  Constitution  as  it  exists  now,  have  no 
right  whatever  to  touch,  by  legislation,  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States 
where  it  exists  by  law.  I  have  said  that,  and  I  say  it  again,  boldly  ;  for  my 
position  never  has  been  misunderstood  on  this  subject.  But,  sir,  I  say  fur 
ther,  that  so  far  as  the  people  of  this  country  have  the  power,  under  the  Con 
stitution,  to  weaken  the  institution  of  slavery  ;  to  deprive  it  of  its  force  ;  to 
subject  it,  as  an  institution,  to  the  laws  of  the  land  ;  to  take  away  the  political 
influence  which  it  has  wielded  in  this  country,  and  to  render  it,  so  far  as  they 
can,  a  nullity,  they  have  the  right  to  do  so,  and  it  is  their  solemn  duty  to 
exercise  it.  And  I  say,  moreover,  that  honorable  Senators  make  a  mistake 
in  endeavoring  to  excite  the  sensibilities  of  their  people  by  complaining  of 
any  constitutional  action  of  ours  upon  this  subject,  and  in  charging  us  with  a 
breach  of  our  plighted  faith. 

"  Why,  sir,  do  you  suppose  we  came  into  power  to  sit  still  and  be  silent  on 
this  subject ;  that  we  came  into  power  to  do  nothing  ;  to  think  nothing  ;  to 
say  nothing  lest  by  some  possibility  a  portion  of  the  people  of  the  country 
might  be  offended?  That  was  the  argument  of  the  honorable  Senator  from 
Indiana  [Mr.  Wright]  this  morning,  as  I  understand  it.  Sir,  it  is  no  more 
than  ought  reasonably  to  be  expected — no  matter  whether  in  the  progress  of 
this  war  or  not,  no  matter  where  it  touches, — if  the  people  of  this  country 
should  see  that  the  institution  of  slavery  has  been  the  prolific  source  of  all 
that  we  now  suffer,  the  ground  upon  which  this  rebellion  originated  and  has 
been  carried  on,  that  they  will  strike  at  it,  wherever  they  can  constitutionally 
do  so.  All  that  anybody  ought  to  ask  is,  '  Hands  off  wherever  the  Constitu 
tion  prohibits  you  from  touching  it  at  all.' 

"  I  do  not  grow  restive,  sir,  because  on  this  question  I  am  no  longer 
restive  ;  but  I  cannot  help  feeling  a  little  wonder  that  Senators  here  or 
gentlemen  out  of  this  Hall  should  undertake  to  suppose  that  this  cry,  which 
we  have  heard  so  long  and  which  has  produced  so  much  effect,  that  we  must 
not  touch  the  question  at  all,  whatever  may  be  its  condition  and  whatever 
may  be  ours,  is  to  be  listened  to.  I  will  hold,  as  I  have  always  said  before, 
strictly  and  strongly  to  every  pledge  that  I  gave  individually,  or  that  my  party 
gave  and  that  I  assented  to  ;  but  you  must  not  expect  me  to  take  back  all  my 
opinions  ;  you  must  not  expect  me  to  hold  back  my  hand  where  I  can  strike 
at  the  institution  as  an  institution  ;  you  must  not  expect  me  to  restrain  myself 
when  I  see  an  opportunity  in  any  way  to  dissever  this  Government  from  the 
support  of  that  institution  directly  or  indirectly.  I  should  be  false  to  my  own 
principles  if  I  did  so.  I  should  be  false  to  all  the  professions  that  I  have 
made  from  my  youth  up.  I  should  be  false  to  all  the  instincts  of  my  nature, 
and  all  the  duty  which  I  owe  to  my  country,  believing  as  I  do  that  the  insti 
tution  is,  has  been,  and  ever  will  be,  a  curse. 

"I  did  not  intend  even  to  be  drawn  to  this  length  of  discussing  this  ques 
tion  ;  but  I  wish  to  say  to  the  gentlemen  frankly  that  they  must  not  expect  us 
to  yield  them  too  much.  I  will  give  them  credit  for  believing,  as  undoubt 
edly  they  do  believe,  that  all  these  things  will  be  taken  advantage  of  by  the 


Feb.  18621     ORDER  CONCERNING  FUGITIVE  SLAVES.      153 

enemy  ;  and  I  will  give  them  this  credit,  too,  that  the  greater  part  of  their 
anxiety  arises  from  that  source.  I  am  certain  it  is  so  with  my  friend  from 
Virginia  [Mr.  Willey].  I  make  all  allowances  for  that.  But,  sir,  reflect ; 
have  we  not  duties  to  perform  with  our  opinions  ?  Can  we  defer  the  con 
sideration  of  some  of  these  subjects  ?  Are  they  not  before  us  every  day  ? 
Do  they  not  meet  us  at  every  turn  ?  Why  not,  then,  meet  us  upon  proper 
grounds,  and  say,  '  As  long  as  you  keep  yourselves  within  the  limits  of  the 
Constitution,  do  what  seems  to  you  best ;  we  acknowledge,  with  you,  that 
this  has  been  the  moving  cause  of  the  rebellion  and  of  the  evils  we  now 
suffer  ;  be  careful  then  to  give  no  occasion  for  any  man  to  say  that  you  are 
forgetting  your  pledges  to  support  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  ;  but  within  the  limit  we  cannot  expect  you  to  do  otherwise 
than  to  use  all  the  power  you  have  to  strike  at  slavery  as  far  as  you  may.' 
Why,  sir,  I  should  deem  myself  neglectful  of  all  my  duties  if  I  should  hesi 
tate  for  one  moment  on  a  question  like  this." 

There  was  alway  a  robust  manhood  in  the  Maine 
Senator. 

Few  men  were  more  alert  and  industrious  in  the  Sen 
ate,  in  the  first  years  of  Republican  ascendency,  than 
John  P.  Hale  of  New  Hampshire.  I  fear  it  may  be  said 
that  he  in  a  way  survived  his  industry,  if  not  his  early 
promise  and  fame. 

Mr.  Hale  said  : 

"  Mr.  President,  I  fear,  from  the  long  time  that  I  have  been  entitled  to 
the  floor  upon  this  subject,  the  expectation  may  have  been  indulged  by  some 
that  I  proposed  to  make  some  extended  remarks  on  it :  but  I  do  not.  I  pro 
pose  in  a  very  brief  manner  to  notice  one  of  the  objections  raised  by  the 
honorable  Senator  from  Kentucky  [Mr.  Davis]  to  this  bill  ;  and  that  is  in 
regard  to  the  consequences  that  are  to  ensue  upon  the  enactment  of  the  bill 
now  before  the  Senate.  I  may  remark  that  of  all  the  forms  skepticism  ever 
assumed,  the  most  insidious,  the  most  dangerous,  and  the  most  fatal  is  that 
which  suggests  that  it  is  unsafe  to  perform  plain  and  simple  duty  for  fear 
that  disastrous  consequences  may  result  therefrom. 

"  This  question  of  emancipation,  wherever  it  has  been  raised  in  this 
country,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  rarely  ever  been  argued  upon  the  great  and 
fundamental  principles  of  right :  the  inquiry  is  never  put,  certainly  in  legis 
lative  circles,  what  is  right,  what  is  just,  what  is  due  to  the  individuals  that 
are  to  be  effected  by  the  measure,  but  what  are  to  be  the  consequences  ? 
Men  entirely  forget  to  look  at  the  objects  that  are  to  be  effected  by  the  bill, 
in  view  of  the  inherent  rights  of  their  manhood,  in  view  of  the  great  ques- 


154  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [Feb.  1862 

tions  of  humanity,  of  Christianity,  and  of  duty  ;  but  what  are  to  be  the  con 
sequences,  what  is  to  be  its  effect  upon  the  price  of  sugar,  tobacco,  cotton, 
and  other  necessaries  and  luxuries  of  life  ?  The  honorable  Senator  from 
Kentucky  looks  upon  it  in  that  point  of  view  entirely.  Let  me  here  read 
from  his  statement,  for  I  shall  not  trust  myself  to  state  what  a  man  said, 
after  the  censure  I  had  from  the  Senator  from  Illinois,  without  reading 
from  his  own  remarks.  The  Senator  from  Kentucky  said,  when  this  bill 
was  last  under  consideration  : 

'  The  negroes  that  are  now  liberated  and  that  remain  in  the  city,  will 
become  a  sore  and  a  burden  and  a  charge  upon  the  white  population.  They 
will  be  criminals  ;  they  will  become  paupers.  They  will  be  engaged  in 
crimes  and  in  petty  misdemeanors.  They  will  become  a  charge  and  a  pest 
upon  this  society,  and  the  power  which  undertakes  to  liberate  them  ought 
to  relieve  the  white  community  in  which  they  reside,  and  in  which  they  will 
become  a  pest,  from  their  presence.  This  is  a  poor  city  at  any  rate.  The 
total  amount  of  wealth  here  is  very  inconsiderable  for  the  number  of  the 
white  population.  The  burdens  and  charges  upon  them  are  heavy,  onerous, 
oppressive,  and  this  measure  will  make  those  burdens  greatly  more  so.' 

"  I  would  thank  the  honorable  Senator  from  Kentucky,  if  I  misrepresent 
him,  to  state  so  now.  I  do  not  misrepresent  him.  The  honorable  Senator 
went  further,  and  not  only  expressed  this  as  his  firm  and  undoubting  con 
viction  ;  but  he  added,  in  his  own  emphatic  manner,  '  I  know  that  it  is  so,' 
Now,  it  does  not  become  me  to  say  that  I  know  to  the  contrary  ;  it  does  not 
become  me  to  venture  my  opinions  against  the  opinions  of  that  Senator  who 
has  lived  among  the  population  of  which  he  speaks  ;  but  it  is  as  much  my 
prerogative  as  it  is  the  honorable  Senator's,  to  read  a  little  of  history,  and 
to  know  what  is  its  teaching  upon  this  question,  and  by  that  test  to  compare 
the  predictions  of  the  honorable  Senators  with  some  other  predictions  of  a 
different  character  that  have  been  made  elsewhere  on  other  occasions. 

"  With  those  who  assume  the  ground  that  is  taken  by  the  honorable 
Senator  from  Kentucky,  the  effects  of  emancipation  in  the  British  West 
Indies  and  St.  Domingo  are  pointed  at  continually,  as  if  they  furnished  un 
erring  proof  of  the  accuracy  with  which  they  estimate  the  consequences  that 
are  to  follow  emancipation.  I  ask  the  attention  of  the  Senate  for  a  few 
moments  to  some  facts  in  relation  to  that  matter.  I  know  very  well  that 
upon  the  island  of  Jamaica,  so  far  as  that  island  is  concerned,  there  has 
been  a  constant  deterioration  and  diminution  of  its  productive  industry  in 
regard  to  its  great  staples  which  formerly  constituted  its  wealth  ;  and  that 
is  pointed  at  triumphantly  as  proof  that  it  is  unsafe,  unwise,  and  inexpedient 
to  adopt  any  such  measure.  But,  sir,  if  gentlemen  will  look  at  the  statisti 
cal  history  of  the  island  of  Jamaica,  they  will  find  indisputable  figures  taken 
from  the  highest  authority,  to  wit,  the  colonial  reports  made  to  the  Imperial 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  that  the  deterioration  of  Jamaica  had  com 
menced  long  and  long  before  emancipation  was  even  thought  of,  and  that  it 
•went  down  in  a  constantly  decreasing  ratio  until  emancipation,  and  subse- 


Feb.  1862]     ORDER  CONCERNING  FUGITIVE  SLAVES.       I  55 

quently.     To  prove  what  I  say,  I  will  give  you  a  series  of  statistics,  going 
back  as  far  as  the  year  1801." 

He  followed  this  with  a  very  full  and  satisfactory  expos£ 
•of  the  British  West  India  emancipation. 

Nearly  all  the  leading  Senators  took  part  in  the  discus 
sion.  Among  them  Saulsbury,  and  many  Democrats  ; 
Bayard  closing  the  debate  with  an  elaborate  speech  against 
the  bill.  The  vote  when  taken  on  the  Emancipation  Bill 
was  as  follows : 

YEAS. — Anthony,  Browning,  Chandler,  Clark,  Collamer, 
Dixon,  Doolittle,  Fessenden,  Foot,  Foster,  Grimes,  Hale, 
Harlan,  Harris,  Howard,  Howe,  King,  Lane  of  Indiana, 
Lane  of  Kansas,  Morrill,  Pomeroy,  Sherman,  Sumner,  Ten 
Eyck,  Trumbull,  Wade,  Wilkinson,  Wilmot,  and  Wilson 
of  Massachusetts — 29. 

NAYS. — Bayard,  Carlisle,  Davis,  Henderson,  Kennedy, 
Latham,  McDougall,  Nesmith,  Powell,  Saulsbury,  Stark, 
Willey,  Wilson  of  Missouri,  and  Wright — 14. 

Thus  the  bill  was  passed. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
EMANCIPATION. 

FEBRUARY,    1862. 

The  President's  Plan — House  Debate — The  Bill  was  fully  Debated  in  Com 
mittee  of  the  Whole  in  the  House — On  its  Passage  Mr.  Riddle 
Addressed  the  House. 

The  following  is  from  the  Globe  on  the  passage  of  the 
bill  by  the  House : 

MR.  RIDDLE. — "  Mr.  Chairman,  a  great  truth  is  weakened  by  what  men 
call  elucidation.  Illustration  obscures  it ;  logic  and  argument  compromise 
it ;  and  demonstration  brings  it  to  doubt.  He  who  permits  himself  to  be 
put  on  its  defensive,  is  a  weak  man  or  a  coward.  A  great  truth  is  never  so 
strong  as  when  left  to  stand  on  its  simple  assertion. 

"  The  thing  which  is  right,  forever  remains  right,  under  all  possible  cir 
cumstances  and  conditions  ;  in  all  times,  places,  and  seasons.  Nor  can  it 
be  changed  at  all.  Not  all  power,  nor  the  combination  of  power,  no  matter 
how  employed  or  applied,  can  change  it  in  the  least.  It  matters  not  at  all 
how  men  call  it — though  the  unanimous  world  conspire  to  call  it  ill,  and  tag 
it  out  with  vile  epithets  ;  though  obscene  mouths  make  it  common,  and  lewd 
tongues  toss  it  into  sewers,  and  delicate  and  refined  ears  may  not  hear  it — it 
is  nowise  changed.  No  matter  what  ill  happens  to  it  ;  though  cast  out, 
exiled,  banished,  and  outlawed,  marked  and  forever  banned,  made  leprous 
with  contumely  and  reproach  ;  though  prisoned,  tried,  condemned,  and 
executed,  and  its  body,  like  carrion,  cast  to  vultures,  it  still  lives,  is  still 
right  ;  holds  its  old  place  and  old  sceptre.  Nor  can  any  man,  by  any  power, 
under  any  circumstances,  for  anything,  be  absolved  from  the  allegiance  he 
owes  it. 

"  So,  too,  its  great  opposite,  wrong,  must  forever  be  wrong  and  not  right. 
No  matter,  though  taken  from  its  native  hell  and  enthroned  a  crowned 

156 


Fe  b ,  1 8  6  2  ]  EM  A  NCI  PA  TION.  I  5  7 

king  ;  though  a  universe  bow  to  it  and  cry  '  All  hail  ! '  though  constitutions 
be  written  to  sustain  it  ;  though  laws  be  enacted  in  its  name,  and  ermined 
judges  wrench  the  maxims  of  '  wisdom's  gray  fathers  '  for  its  support  ; 
though  jurors  be  sworn  by  it,  and  all  magistrates  bound  to  enforce  its  de 
crees  ;  though  its  name  be  written  in  all  holy  places,  and  graved  on  all 
shrines,  and  its  maxims  mingled  in  the  rites  of  holy  ministration,  and  its 
sanctifying  hand  only  can  bless  and  curse,  join  and  put  asunder  ;  though  it 
reign  till  hoary  prescription  grows  up  and  surrounds  it  with  a  wall  of  custom 
and  habit  and  use  that  existed  '  time  whereof  the  memory  of  man  runneth 
not  to  the  contrary  '  ;  still  it  is  wrong,  and  not  right.  Its  reign  is  an  usurpa 
tion,  its  laws  an  outrage,  against  which  rebellion  is  righteous  ;  and  the  im 
munities  and  privileges  which  it  confers  are  the  fruits  of  robbery,  murder, 
and  ravishment. 

"  No  man  can  rightfully  do  wrong  ;  nor  can  one  man  authorize  another  to 
do  wrong  ;  nor  can  ten,  five  hundred,  nor  five  hundred  thousand  men.  No 
matter  with  what  formality  or  solemnity  the  power  is  sought  to  be  conferred, 
whether  by  common  consent  or  by  the  legislative  forms  of  a  State  or  nation, 
the  power  of  attorney  is  invalid,  and  the  thing  done  pursuant  to  its  scope  is 
a  crime.  A  thousand  years  of  growth  cannot  change  wrong  to  right.  .  .  . 

"  With  me  to  argue,  declaim,  or  inveigh  against  this  measure  is  the  idle 
waste  of  the  most  useless  breath  that  indolent  trifling  can  indulge  in.  I  turn 
to  the  great  rules  of  right,  and  I  see  that  you  have  razed  out  the  decalogue  of 
Omnipotence,  and  have  daubed  and  smeared  over  the  eternal  adamant  with 
the  code  of  slavery  ;  and  I  know  that  it  is  all  a  huge  lie,  without  semblance 
or  seeming  of  truth. 

"It  is  idle  to  establish  to  me  the  inferiority  of  that  sinless  race.  I  see 
that  they  are  men  ;  useless,  by  curious  physiological  ethnological  disqui 
sition,  to  affirm  a  difference  between  the  African  and  Caucasian  tribes — for  I 
know  that  God  created  both.  It  is,  to  me,  blasphemy  to  attempt  to  show 
that  the  Creator  intended  this  race  for  slaves,  for  the  very  elements  of  our 
common  nature,  which  are  the  common  basis  upon  which  God  planted 
the  races,  gives  that  dogma  the  lie.  If  I  were  to  base  an  estimate  upon  the 
practical  givings  out  of  this  House,  on  a  recent  memorable  occasion,  I 
should  suppose  that  these,  my  views,  were  not  those  of  a  majority  of  this 
body.  .  .  . 

1 '  So  low  in  the  ranks  of  humanity  do  these  bondmen  stand,  that  they  were 
deemed  the  proper  subjects  of  taxation.  The  proprietary  interest  of  the  mas 
ter  in  the  slave  predominates  over  the  human  interest  of  a  man  in  himself  ; 
and  had  the  selfishness  of  the  masters  and  their  allies  permitted  them  to  unite 
with  the  large  body  of  gentlemen  who  voted  to  tax  slaves,  the  tax  would 
have  been  laid.  Nay,  so  unhuman  were  they  practically  held,  that  they 
could  not  be  the  subjects  of  a  capitation  tax  even.  For  as  a  capitation  tax 
the  scheme  was  conceded  to  be  unconstitutional.  I  do  not  stop  here  to  com 
bat  that  low  dogma,  that  that  is  property  which  the  law  of  the  place  makes 
property.  I  only  assert  that  property  is  the  only  universal  basis  of  taxation  ; 


158  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Feb.  1862 

and  where  a  given  subject  is  assessed  with  a  tax,  that  that  is  a  practical 
recognition  of  such  subject  as  property.  It  is  idle  to  seek  a  confusion  of 
ideas  in  a  confusion  of  words,  and  so  escape  ;  of  what  avail  to  call  this  a 
relation,  and  then  say  you  license  the  relation.  In  that  form  the  propo 
sition  is  just  as  obnoxious  to  me  ;  I  would  for  no  millions  permit  such  a  re 
lation,  nor  would  I  under  any  form  derive  money  from  it  for  any  purpose. 
I  would  as  soon  think  of  filling  the  exchequer  with  the  gains  of  prostitution. 
"  It  need  not  be  urged  as  a  palliation  or  offset  that  the  condition  of  the 
slave  is  more  elevated  than  that  of  his  ancestors  or  brethren  in  Africa. 
That,  if  true,  was  neither  intended  nor  desired  by  the  master.  It  is  in  op 
position  to  his  wish,  and  in  spite  of  his  most  persistent  efforts  to  the  con 
trary.  He  has  done  all  in  his  power  to  prevent  it ;  for  just  in  proportion  as 
the  slave  rises  in  the  scale  of  manhood,  he  sinks  in  the  scale  of  servitude. 
The  master  punishes  with  imprisonment  a  woman  for  teaching  a  slave  to 
read,  and  the  crude  notions  of  Christianity  that  he  permits  them  to  imbibe 
are  warped  with  a  diabolism  that  makes  them  the  more  abased." 

In  regard  to  the  efforts  to  reconstruct  parties  in  the 
House  Mr.  Riddle  said : 

"  And  yet  here  and  there  are  runnings  to  and  fro,  and  a  fearful  putting 
together  of  soft  addled  heads,  and  terrible  plottings  and  arrangings  and  re- 
arrangings  of  rickety,  worn-out,  useless,  and  obsolete  party  machinery.  Oh, 
it  is  an  absurdly  idle  and  laughter-provoking  farce,  this  reconstruction  of  the 
party.  The  great  old  leaders,  where  are  they  ?  One  prematurely  slumbers 
where  the  translucent  waters  of  his  magnificent  lake  break  in  lisping  wave 
lets  at  his  feet ;  and  the  rest,  in  grand  proportions  of  patriots  and  heroes, 
march  at  the  head  of  countless  millions,  whose  armed  tread  tramples  alike 
on  the  shackles  of  the  slave  and  of  the  party. 

"  It  is  here  alone  that  puny  hands  are  raised,  and  piping,  petulant  voices 
cry  out  and  exclaim  against  the  progress  of  events,  and  propose  to  recon 
struct  the  party.  My  colleague  [Mr.  Vallandigham]  said  well  in  the  declara 
tion  that  none  of  these  men  '  made  his  mark '  ;  and  the  aside,  that '  none  of 
them  ever  will,'  was  still  better. 

"  With  me  this  measure  is  one  of  power,  and  there  can  be  no  question  of 
that.  I  read  in  the  Constitution  of  our  fathers  that  the  Congress  shall  '  ex 
ercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever '  over  this  district.  Not 
merely  that  Congress  has  legislative  power,  but  '  exclusive  '  power  ;  not 
merely  in  a  few  specified  cases,  but  in  '  all  cases  whatsoever.'  Where  is  the 
room  for  doubt,  the  ground  for  argument,  or  the  excuse  for  cavil,  in  the 
presence  of  this  explicit  declaration  ?  But  we  are  told  that  the  cession  of 
this  territory  and  people  to  the  United  States  was  accompanied  by  certain 
conditions  that  hedge  in  and  fence  around  this  slavery,  and  wall  us  away 
from  all  interference  with  it,  except  to  aid  it  perhaps.  Conditions  !  What 
conditions  ?  Where  are  they  set  down,  and  in  what  terms? 


Fe  b,  1 8  6  2  ]  EM  A  NCI  PA  TION.  1 5  9 

"  Ingenious  and  learned  men  have  applied  to  this  measure  the  little  ques 
tions  of  technical  legality,  the  subtile  and  artificial  reasonings  of  the  books 
and  courts,  and  find  the  law  with  us  ;  while  others  have  laboriously  mined 
back  into  the  dark  and  crooked  legislation  of  dark  and  crooked  men  for  the 
last  hundred  and  fifty  dark  and  crooked  years,  to  establish,  with  such  luck  as 
God  permits,  the  rightfulness  of  slavery  here,  and  an  absence  of  power  to 
deal  with  it.  I  have  no  part  in  these  labors,  nor  do  I  sympathize  with 
them  nor  their  fruits  ;  nor  do  I  care  a  rag  whether  their  results  are  for  or 
against  me. 

"  I  find  here  a  clear  God's  truth  that  needs  Congressional  utterance.  I 
find  a  great  right  calling  for  legislative  establishment.  I  find  our  weak  and 
faulty  organs  equal  to  the  utterance  of  this  truth,  all  unused  to  it  as  they  are. 
I  find  power  ample  to  establish  this  right,  and  for  these  reasons,  and  for  no 
other,  I  propose  to  speak  the  truth  and  establish  the  right.  I  propose  so  to 
do  this  right  thing  as  neither  to  compromise  it  nor  ourselves.  .  .  . 

"  Those  who  would  defer  emancipation  until  a  satisfactory  plan  for  the 
disposition  of  the  slaves  is  devised,  would  do  well  to  contemplate  the  ulti 
mate  catastrophe  to  both  races  if  this  scheme  of  slavery  should  go  forward 
unchanged  fifty  or  a  hundred  years  more,  when  our  system  could  no  longer 
sustain  its  weight. 

"  What  strange  passages  the  sayings  and  doings  of  the  American  Congress 
of  this  year  of  grace  will  furnish  to  the  page  of  history — that  now,  when 
this  thing  of  slavery  is  tumbling  to  ruins  about  us,  of  self-begotten  rotten 
ness,  men  can  still  be  found  so  blind  and  stupid  and  fanatic  as  to  seek  to 
stay  and  prop  it  up.  There  is  not  a  man  living  that  dares  arise  here  and 
say  that  he  does  not  know  that  slavery  is  utterly  all  wrong.  Nor  can  a  man 
here  be  found  that  will  say  that  he  does  not  believe  that  it  is  some  time  to 
end  ;  nor  that  when  that  end  is  reached,  it  will  not  be  through  convulsion, 
anarchy,  and  blood.  But  yet,  now,  when  that  fearful  end  draws  nigh, 
through  these  fearful  paroxysms,  which  can  neither  be  mistaken  nor  denied, 
men  whose  dearest  interests  are  most  involved,  stand  with  their  allies  in 
blind  infatuation,  and  raise  their  paralytic  hands  to  push  the  calamity  by, 
will  not  believe  it  is  upon  them,  and  hold  those  to  be  their  bitterest  foes 
who  implore  and  beseech  them  to  care  for  and  provide  for  their  own  and  the 
common  welfare. 

"  Like  a  tigress  that,  stealing  upon  her  prey,  and  falling  into  the  hunter's 
toils,  in  her  great  agony,  whelps  there  her  young,  this  slavery,  overwhelmed 
in  its  progress,  spawned  into  the  world  this  atrocious  rebellion  and  war. 
And  these,  her  offspring,  like  Milton's  hell-hounds,  born  of  sin,  turn  ever  to 
tear  and  devour  the  hag  that  gave  them  birth. 

4 '  It  is  most  fitting  that,  while  the  army  marches  to  the  restoration  of  the 
national  power,  over  the  form  of  fallen  slavery,  and  tramps  its  life  out, 
the  solemn  lustration  of  the  nation's  capital  should  be  performed  by  our 
hands  ;  that  these  fetters  should  dissolve  in  our  breath,  so  that  when  our 
country  again  confronts  her  sister  nations,  though  her  feet  would  still  be 


l6o  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [Feb.  1862 

ensanguined  with  the  mingled  blood  of  her  filial  and  parricidal  children,  she 
may  present  her  countenance  in  cloudless  though  saddened  beauty,  purged 
of  its  hideous  deformity  by  her  own  unconstrained  hand. 

' '  There  could  be  no  moment  so  propitious  for  this  great  beneficence  as 
this,  preceded,  as  it  is,  by  the  prophetic  voice  of  the  Executive,  whose  calm 
and  serene  utterance  has  more  startled  the  world  than  the  great  convulsion 
from  whose  bosom  he  spoke.  Make  haste  to  complete  this  great  act,  and  it 
shall  proclaim  itself  to  the  waiting  and  oppressed  of  the  earth  as  the  realized 
gospel  of  deliverance.  The  yellow  waves  of  the  Potomac,  in  their  downward 
flow  to  the  sea,  shall  whisper  in  liquid  murmurs  to  the  Great  Sleeper  on  its 
banks,  that  the  city  that  bears  his  name  is  now  worthy  of  it."  l 

The  vote  on  the  passage  was  : 

YEAS.— Aldrich,  Alley,  Arnold,  Ashley,  Babbitt,  Baker, 
Baxter,  Beaman,  Bingham,  Francis  P.  Blair,  Samuel  S. 
Blair,  Blake,  George  H.  Browne,  Buffinton,  Campbell, 
Chamberlin,  Clark,  Colfax,  Frederick  A.  Conklin,  Roscoe 
Conklin,  Covode,  Davis,  Dawes,  Delano,  Diven,  Duell, 
Dunn,  Edgerton,  Edwards,  Eliot,  English,  Fenton,  Fes- 
senden,  Fisher,  Franchot,  Frank,  Gooch,  Goodwin,  Gran 
ger,  Haight,  Hale,  Hanchett,  Harrison,  Hickman,  Hooper, 
Hutchins,  Julian,  Kelley,  Francis  W.  Kellogg,  Killinger, 
Lansing,  Loomis,  Lovejoy,  McKnight,  McPherson, 
Mitchell,  Moorhead,  Anson  P.  Merrill,  Justin  S.  Morrill, 
Nixon,  Odell,  Olin,  Patton,  Pike,  Porter,  Alexander  H. 
Rice,  John  H.  Rice,  Riddle,  Edward  H.  Rollins,  Sargent, 
Sedgwick,  Shanks,  Sheffield,  Shellabarger,  Sloan,  Spauld- 
ing,  Stevens,  Stratton,  Benjamin  F.  Thomas,  Train,  Trow- 
bridge,  Van  Horn,  Van  Valkenburgh,  Verree,  Wallace,  E. 
P.  Walton,  Washburne,  Wheeler,  Albert  S.  White,  Wilson, 
and  Windom — 91. 

NAYS. — Allen,  Joseph  Bailey,  Biddle,  Jacob  B.  Blair, 
William  G.  Brown,  Casey,  Crittenden,  Delaplaine,  Dunlap, 
Girder,  Hall,  Harding,  Holman,  Johnson,  Knapp,  Law, 
Lazear,  Mallory,  Menzies,  Morris,  Noble,  Norton,  Nugen, 
Pendleton,  Perry,  Price,  James  S.  Rollins,  Shiel,  John  B. 
Steele,  William  G.  Steele,  Francis  Thomas,  Vallandigham, 

1  Mr.  Greeley  honored  this  speech  with  a  letter  in  the  Ledger. 


Fe  b.  1 8  6  2  ]  EM  A  NCI  PA  TION.  1 6 1 

Voorhees,  Wadsworth,  Ward,  Chilton  A.  White,  Wick- 
liffe,  and  Wright— 38. 

Pending  the  bill  to  emancipate  the  slaves  in  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia,  the  President  sent  us  a  message 
recommending  appropriations  by  Congress  for  aid  to  such 
of  the  slave  States  as  should  manifest  a  desire  to  free  their 
slaves.  Mr.  Conkling  introduced  a  joint  resolution,  de 
claring  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Government  to 
aid  any  State  which  should  make  an  effort  to  emancipate 
slaves.  This  passed  the  House  as  follows  : 

YEAS. — Aldrich,  Arnold,  Ashley,  Babbitt,  Baker,  Baxter, 
Beaman,  Bingham,  Francis  P.  Blair,  Jacob  B.  Blair,  Samuel 
S.  Blair,  Blake,  William  G.  Brown,  Buffinton,  Campbell, 
Chamberlin,  Clements,  Colfax,  Frederick  A.  Conkling, 
Roscoe  Conkling,  Conway,  Covode,  Cutler,  Davis,  Delano, 
Diven,  Duell,  Dunn,  Edgerton,  Edwards,  Eliot,  Ely,  Fes- 
senden,  Fisher,  Franchot,  Frank,  Gooch,  Goodwin,  Gran 
ger,  Haight,  Hale,  Harrison,  Hickman,  Hooper,  Horton, 
Hutchins,  Julian,  Kelley,  Francis  W.  Kellogg,  William 
Kellogg,  Killinger,  Lansing,  Loomis,  Lovejoy,  McKnight, 
McPherson,  Mitchell,  Moorhead,  Anson  P.  Morrill,  Justin 
S.  Morrill,  Nixon,  Olin,  Patton,  Timothy  G.  Phelps,  Pike, 
Pomeroy,  Porter,  Alexander  H.  Rice,  John  H.  Rice, 
Riddle,  Edward  H.  Rollins,  Sargent,  Shanks,  Sheffield, 
Shellabarger,  Sloan,  Stratton,  Train,  Trowbridge,  Van 
Valkenburgh,  Verree,  Wallace,  Charles  E.  Walton,  E. 
P.  Walton,  Whaley,  White,  Wilson,  Windom,  and  Wor 
cester — 89. 

NAYS. — Ancona,  Joseph  Baily,  Biddle,  Corning,  Cox, 
Cravens,  Crisfield,  Crittenden,  Dunlap,  English,  Harding, 
Johnson,  Knapp,  Law,  Leary,  Noble,  Norton,  Pendleton, 
Perry,  Richardson,  Robinson,  Shiel,  John  B.  Steele,  Fran 
cis  Thomas,  Voorhees,  Wadsworth,  Ward,  Clinton  A. 
White,  Wickliffe,  Wood,  and  Woodruff— 31. 

It  passed  the  Senate  also  : 

YEAS. — Anthony,   Browning,  Chandler,    Clark,   Colla- 


l62  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Feb.  1862 

mer,  Davis,  Dixon,  Doolittle,  Fessenden,  Foot,  Foster, 
Grimes,  Hale,  Harlan,  Henderson,  Howard,  Howe,  King, 
Lane  of  Indiana,  Lane  of  Kansas,  Morrill,  Pomeroy, 
Sherman,  Sumner,  Ten  Eyck,  Thompson,  Trumbull, 
Wade,  Wilkinson,  Willey,  Wilmot,  and  Wilson  of  Massa 
chusetts — 32. 

NAYS. — Bayard,  Carlisle,  Kennedy,  Latham,  Nesmith, 
Powell,  Saulsbury,  Stark,  Wilson  of  Missouri,  and 
Wright — 10. 

A  few  days  later  the  House  passed  a  resolution  cover 
ing  the  same  proposition,  which  by  its  terms  was  referred 
to  a  select  committee  from  the  slave  States,  having  repre 
sentation  in  the  House.  Of  this  committee  Mr.  Crisfield 
was  chairman,  and  wrote  the  report,  the  sum  of  which  was 
that  these  States  would  not  entertain  a  proposition  in  any 
form  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  within  their  jurisdiction. 
The  resolution  itself  passed  by  the  following  vote : 

YEAS.— Alley,  Arnold,  Ashley,  Babbitt,  Baker,  Baxter, 
Beaman,  Bingham,  Francis  P.  Blair,  Blake,  Buffinton, 
Campbell,  Chamberlin,  Clark,  Colfax,  Frederick  A.  Conk- 
ling,  Davis,  Dawes,  Duell,  Edgerton,  Eliot,  Fenton,  Fes 
senden,  Gurley,  Hanchett,  Hickman,  Hutchins,  Julian, 
Kelley,  Francis  W.  Kellogg,  Lansing,  Loomis,  Lovejoy, 
McKnight,  McPherson,  Moorhead,  Anson  P.  Morrill,  Jus 
tin  S.  Morrill,  Nixon,  Olin,  Pike,  Pomeroy,  Potter,  Alex 
ander  H.  Rice,  John  H.  Rice,  Riddle,  Edward  H.  Rollins, 
Sargent,  Shanks,  Sheffield,  Shellabarger,  Sherman,  Sloan, 
Stevens,  Stratton,  Train,  Van  Horn,  Van  Valkenburgh, 
Verree,  Wallace,  Charles  W.  Walton,  E.  P.  Walton, 
Washburne,  Wheeler,  Albert  S.  White,  Wilson,  and  Win- 
dom — 67. 

NAYS.— Allen,  Biddle,  Jacob  B.  Blair,  George  H. 
Browne,  William  G.  Brown,  Calvert,  Casey,  Cobb,  Corn 
ing,  Cox,  Cravens,  Crittenden,  Delano,  Delaplaine,  Diven, 
Dunlap,  English,  Fisher,  Grider,  Haight,  Harding,  Harri 
son,  Horton,  Kerrigan,  Knapp,  Law,  Lazear,  Leary,  Leh- 


Feb.  1862]  EMANCIPATION.  163 

man,  Mallory,  Menzies,  Mitchell,  Noble,  Noell,  Norton, 
Nugen,  Pendleton,  Perry,  Timothy  G.  Phelps,  Price, 
Richardson,  Shiel,  Smith,  John  B.  Steele,  William  G. 
Steele,  Vallandigham,  Voorhees,  Wadsworth,  Ward, 
Webster,  Chilton  A.  White,  and  Wickliffe— 52. 

It  is  an  amazing  thing  that  not  a  Democrat  of  either 
House  voted  for  any  measure  looking,  however  remotely, 
to  the  abolition  of  slavery.  Delaware,  with  Bayard  and 
Saulsbury  in  the  Senate,  had  in  the  House  George  Fisher, 
as  staunch  a  Republican  as  we  had  on  the  floor.  He 
made  a  very  strong  speech  in  favor  of  the  joint  resolution 
to  aid  the  States  in  emancipation.  He  failed  of  re-elec 
tion,  and  was  placed  by  the  President  on  the  bench  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia — a  court  of 
our  creation,  and  for  which  we  cleared  the  ground  by 
sweeping  the  alleged  disloyal  circuit  court  from  the 
board. 

When  Mr.  Crisfield  and  his  sub-committee  were  wrest 
ling,  heavy  laden  with  Mr.  White's  (the  last)  resolution, 
he  invited  me  to  a  conference  with  them.  In  the  inter 
view  I  urged  every  argument  at  my  command,  and  with 
such  force  as  I  thought  becoming,  to  give  some  indication 
that  they  would  at  some  time  seriously  entertain  a  prop 
osition,  in  some  form,  to  emancipate  their  slaves.  I  said 
I  would  vote  to  tax  the  people  of  the  free  States  to  make 
compensation  for  their  loss  of  property,  this  being  their 
only  chance  to  escape  an  inevitable  loss ;  that  in  my  de 
liberate  judgment  the  war  was  the  means  in  the  hand  of 
God  to  purge  the  land  of  slavery  ;  that  slavery  would 
die  in  great  convulsions,  and  was  now  in  its  rigor  mortis  ; 
that  they  would  have  their  States  overrun  with  freed- 
men,  who  would  know  that  they  were  set  free  by  the 
hand  of  war  against  their  masters'  wills.  I  said  much 
more,  vain  as  I  felt  my  labor  to  be. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
DEMOCRACY  IN  THE  HOUSE. 

FEBRUARY,  1 862. 
Vallandigham's  Scheme  of  Reconstruction — The  Democracy  Reorganized. 

AN  important  movement  among  the  Democrats  of  the 
House  may  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  these  votes. 
Whoever  reflects  for  a  moment,  readily  apprehends  that 
when  a  nation  is  at  war,  and  is  confronted  by  an  armed 
foe,  whoever  else  attacks  or  opposes  the  Government  of 
that  nation,  especially  its  measures  for  the  prosecution 
of  its  war,  thereby  becomes  an  ally  of  that  nation's  enemy, 
whether  the  intention  is  to  aid  the  belligerent  enemy  or 
not.  Especially  is  this  the  position,  and  a  trying  one,  of 
an  opposition  party.  For  the  purposes  of  the  war  the 
Administration  party  for  the  time  really  becomes  the 
nation.  If  the  opposition  supports  the  war  it  loses  its 
identity,  is  merged  with  the  Administration  party,  and  is 
lost  for  the  time ;  it  can  only  preserve  itself  as  a  party  by 
opposing  the  war.  To  oppose  the  war  is  to  make  itself 
the  ally  of  the  enemy — to  become  disloyal,  in  fact.  We 
have  seen  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  Demo 
crats  in  both  Houses  of  Congress  very  cordially  supported 
the  national  cause  and  effectively  aided  in  perfecting 
many  of  the  measures  for  that  purpose. 

On  the  8th  of  July,  1861,  Philip  B.  Fouke,  a  Demo- 

164 


Feb.  1862]  DEMOCRACY  IN    THE  HOUSE.  165 

crat,'  of  Illinois,  introduced  into  the  House  a  set  of  resolu 
tions,  the  first  of  which  was  as  follows  : 

' '  Be  it  Resolved,  That  we,  the  Representatives  of  the  Thirty-seventh  Con 
gress,  in  view  of  the  distracted  state  of  our  beloved  country,  and  in  order  to 
secure  harmonious  action,  and  believing  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  to 
be  considerations  far  above  party  ties  and  affiliations,  solemnly  ignore,  dur 
ing  the  impending  war,  all  political  differences  heretofore  existing  between 
the  people  of  the  loyal  states  of  this  Union." 

The  rest,  five  in  number,  were  equally  patriotic.  Mr. 
Lovejoy  moved  to  lay  the  resolutions  on  the  table,  seem 
ingly  because  they  were  proposed  by  an  Illinois  Democrat. 
Mr.  Holman  called  for  the  yeas  and  nays  on  this  -motion. 
That  gentleman  had  already  secured  the  unanimous  adop 
tion  of  a  resolution  limiting  the  labors  of  the  session  to 
war  legislation,  under  which  the  Speaker  declared  Mr. 
Fouke's  resolutions  out  of  order — this  on  the  suggestion 
of  John  Hickman,  of  Pennsylvania,  another  radical  Re 
publican. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Ohio  Democrats  united  in  rec 
ommending  candidates  to  the  President  for  brigadier 
generals. 

At  the  present  session  it  became  apparent  to  Mr.  Val- 
landigham,  the  political  leader  of  the  Democracy  in  Con 
gress,  that  if  this  course  of  supporting  the  administration 
continued,  the  party  would  disappear.  He  was  said  to  be 
of  Southern  origin  and  sympathies  ;  his  political  affilia 
tions  made  him  a  political  ally  of  that  section.  He  un 
questionably  proposed  the  restoration  of  the  States  on 
the  old  basis. 

During  February,  he  introduced  into  the  House  his 
scheme  of  reconstruction,  consisting  of  two  amendments 
to  the  Constitution,  prefaced  with  an  elaborate  preamble. 
The  governing  ideas  were  :  A  division  of  the  States  into 
four  sections,  naming  the  States  to  constitute  each.  This 
was  to  be  worked  out  by  the  Senate.  There  the  votes 
should  be  taken  by  sections,  on  a  demand  of  one  third  of 


1 66  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.       [Feb.  1862 

the  Senators  of  each  section,  and  a  majority  of  the  Sena 
tors  of  each  section  was  necessary  to  pass  a  bill.  There 
was  also  a  plan  of  secession  in  his  scheme — a  State,  with 
the  assent  of  its  sections,  could  withdraw.  His  scheme, 
as  is  seen,  had  for  its  object  to  strengthen  the  defences  of 
slavery. 

He  saw  that  for  effective  action,  as  a  party,  the  De 
mocracy  was  fast  losing  its  integrity  ;  he  therefore  secured 
a  convention  of  his  associates  in  the  House,  where  a  party 
reconstruction  was  made.  The  scheme  was  reduced  to 
writing  and  signed,  the  signers  numbering  thirty-one,  the 
usual  Democratic  contingent  in  the  House.  These  con 
stituted  about  one  half  of  the  usual  opposition.  The 
rest  were  from  the  border  States,  Maryland,  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  and  Missouri.  These  were  found  against  the 
war  bills  from  that  time  on  ;  they  had  always  been  a  unit 
upon  all  questions  involving  slavery.  From  that  unfortu 
nate  party  compact  the  Democrats,  whatever  were  the 
personal  intentions  and  wishes  of  individual  members, 
became,  by  the  logic  of  their  position,  the  allies  in  fact  of 
the  Confederate  States,  and  were  a  serious  obstacle  to  the 
progress  of  the  Union  cause.  This  must  be  conceded. 
Upon  a  careful  examination  of  the  record  it  is  found  that 
the  party,  as  such,  not  only  opposed  the  Republican 
measures  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  but  they  never 
brought  forward  any  measures  for  its  prosecution — not 
a  single  bill  or  resolution  in  either  House.  The  soul  of 
the  war,  where  its  inner  fires  were  most  cherished  and 
carefully  sustained,  was  in  the  hall  of  the  house  of  the 
people's  representatives,  where  really  dwells  the  govern 
ment  of  the  republic.  It  is  true  that  had  every  Democrat 
of  that  body  absented  himself,  the  integrity  of  the  legis 
lative  body  would  have  remained  unimpaired  ;  yet  a  com 
pact  body  of  thirty-one  trained  men  in  the  skilled  hands 
of  a  bold  and  experienced  leader  like  Vallandigham,  always 
ready,  was  a  serious  obstacle  in  its  influence  upon  the 


Feb.  1862]  DEMOCRACY  IN    THE  HOUSE.  167 

Union  cause — equal  to  twenty  thousand  trained  soldiers 
added  to  the  Confederate  Army  under  Stonewall  Jackson 
or  J.  E.  B.  Stuart.  In  the  field  such  a  body  might  be  killed 
and  captured,  but  we  had  no  such  effective  process.  Ex 
cept  for  the  attitude  of  this  able  body  in  the  House  in 
opposition,  The  Butternut  Clubs,  The  Copperhead  Bands, 
The  Brotherhoods  of  Liberty,  and  the  formidable  and  dan 
gerous  order  of  The  Golden  Circle,  that  rendered  volun 
teering  impossible  and  conscription  difficult,  would  never 
have  been  heard  of.  Over  and  beyond  all,  in  this  indomi 
table  band  of  ever-faithful  allies  in  the  citadel,  the  heart 
of  the  Union,  dwelt  one  of  the  steadiest  and  strongest  of 
the  hopes  of  the  Confederacy,  and  though  soon  to  lose  its 
intrepid  leader,  it  may  be  questioned  whether  his  loss  was 
not  more  than  compensated  by  a  widespread  sympathy 
and  a  deep-seated  indignation  "  at  the  deep  damnation  of 
his  taking  off." 


CHAPTER    XXI. 
INQUIRY  CONCERNING  BALL'S   BLUFF. 

DECEMBER,    l86l— JANUARY,    1862. 
Roscoe  Conkling's  Great  Speech. 

DECEMBER,  1861,  Mr.  Roscoe  Conkling,  by  unanimous 
consent,  introduced  the  following  resolution  ;  which  was 
read,  considered,  and  agreed  upon  : 

"  Resolved^  That  the  Secretary  of  War  be  requested,  if  not  incompatible 
with  the  public  service,  to  report  to  this  House,  whether  any,  and  if  any,  what, 
measures  have  been  taken  to  ascertain  who  is  responsible  for  the  disastrous 
movement  of  our  troops  at  Ball's  Bluff." 

This  the  House  sent  to  the  war  office,  and  had  its  day 
of  anguish  and  tears  over  the  fallen  hero  of  the  disastrous 
battle.  The  Secretary  of  War,  Cameron,  moved  by  our 
sorrow,  solaced  us  with  the  following : 

"  WAR  DEPARTMENT,  December  12,  1861. 
"  SIR  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a  resolution  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  calling  for  certain  information  with  regard  to  the 
disastrous  movement  of  our  troops  at  Ball's  Bluff,  and  to  transmit  to  you  a 
report  of  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  United  States  Army,  from  which  you 
will  perceive  that  a  compliance  with  the  resolution,  at  this  time,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  General-in-Chief,  would  be  injurious  to  the  public  service. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  SIMON  CAMERON, 

"  Secretary  of  War. 
"  Hon.  G.  A.  GROW, 

"  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives." 
168 


Dec.  1861]       ENQUIR  Y  CONCERNING  BALLS  BL UFF.         169 

"  HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY, 

"  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 

"  WASHINGTON,  December  n,  1861. 
"  SIR  : 

"  In  compliance  with  your  instructions,  I  have  the  honor  to  report,  in  refer 
ence  to  the  resolution  of  the  honorable  the  House  of  Representatives,  received 
the  3d  instant,  '  that  the  Secretary  of  War  be  requested,  if  not  incom 
patible  with  the  public  interest,  to  report  to  this  House  whether  any,  and  if 
any,  what,  measures  have  been  taken  to  ascertain  who  is  responsible  for  the 
disastrous  movement  of  our  troops  at  Ball's  Bluff '  ;  that  the  General-in- 
Chief  of  the  army  is  of  opinion  that  an  inquiry  on  the  subject  of  the  resolu 
tion  would,  at  this  time,  be  injurious  to  the  public  service.  The  resolution 
is  herewith  respectfully  returned. 

"  Respectfully  submitted, 

"  L.  THOMAS, 

"  Adjutant-General. 
"  Hon.  SECRETARY  OF  WAR,  Washington." 

During  the  half  recess  of  the  House  for  the  holidays, 
Mr.  Conkling,  the  mover  of  the  resolution,  made  a  personal 
examination  of  the  ground  and  of  the  approaches  to  the 
scene  of  conflict,  and  investigated  all  the  attending  cir 
cumstances,  so  far  as  information  within  his  reach  per 
mitted  ;  and  early  in  January  he  called  the  whole  subject 
up,  and,  by  express  permission  of  the  House,  was  enabled 
to  state  his  conclusions  on  the  floor. 

Some  passages  of  his  remarkable  speech  will  aid  in 
understanding  certain  features  of  the  calamitous  affair, 
and  also  the  spirit  of  the  House. 

"  The  resolution  proposed  no  investigation  whatever.  It  did  not  require 
the  disclosure  of  any  fact  or  circumstance  which  had  been  ascertained  by  any 
investigation  already  had.  It  simply  requested  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
inform  the  House  whether  any,  and  if  any,  what  measures  had  been  taken  to 
ascertain  who  was  responsible  for  a  disastrous  battle.  It  did  not  demand  the 
name  of  the  person,  nor  even  ask  whether  there  was  any  such  person. 

"  The  resolution  was  referred  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the  Adjutant- 
General,  and  was  by  him  submitted  to  the  General-in-Chief,  as  appears  by 
the  report  of  the  Adjutant-General  laid  upon  our  tables.  The  General-in- 
Chief,  I  am  willing  to  believe,  did  not  read  the  resolution,  because  I  would 
not  impute  to  any  one  concerned  an  intention  to  trifle  with  the  House,  or  to 
return  an  evasive  answer.  If  he  did  read  it,  he  entirely  mistook  its  point 


170  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.       LDec.  1861- 

and  purport.  He  seems  to  have  received  the  impression  that  the  resolution 
proposed  a  future  investigation,  and  that  of  a  very  general  character  ;  and 
laboring  under  this  misapprehension,  he  expressed  an  opinion  to  the  Ad 
jutant-General,  upon  which  that  officer  made  to  the  Secretary  of  War  a 
report  in  no  sense  responsive  to  the  resolution,  and  the  Secretary,  in  accord 
ance  no  doubt  with  the  practice  of  his  office,  simply  transmitted  that  report 
to  us  and  refers  us  to  it.  ... 

"  This  is  no  ordinary  matter.  The  resolution  relates  to  a  great  national 
concern  ;  it  relates  to  an  event  which  I  believe  to  be  the  most  atrocious 
military  murder  ever  committed  in  our  history  as  a  people.  It  relates  to  a 
lost  field  ;  to  a  disastrous  and  humiliating  battle  ;  to  a  decisive  triumph  of 
rebellion.  It  relates  to  something  more  ;  it  relates  to  a  blunder  so  gross  that 
all  men  can  see  it — no  man  has  ever  dared  deny  or  defend  it — a  blunder 
which,  besides  position,  besides  defeat,  besides  arms  and  munitions  of  war, 
cost  us  confessedly  nine  hundred  and  thirty  men,  many  of  them  the  very 
pride  and  flower  of  the  States  from  which  they  came. 

"The  resolution  proposed,  in  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  lost,  in 
sympathy  for  the  multitude  of  mourners  who  lament  them,  in  deference  to 
public  propriety  and  self-respect,  that  the  Nation  should  be  assured  that  the 
military  authorities  had  taken  some  notice  of  this  prodigal  and  needless 
slaughter  of  the  sons  of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  Pennsylvania  ;  it 
proposed  that  the  Nation  should  know  that  some  proceeding  had  taken  place, 
something  open  or  secret,  formal  or  informal  ;  if  not  all  that  military  usage 
requires,  then  something  to  excuse,  or  an  apology  for  something.  .  .  . 

"  The  House  is  no  doubt  aware  that  the  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff,  like  many 
other  things,  has  been  made  the  subject  of  an  issue  between  the  regular  army 
and  the  volunteers.  Brigadier-General  Stone,  who  was  at  the  time  command 
ing  the  division  from  which  the  detachment  came  which  fought  the  battle,  or 
attempted  to  fight  it,  is  an  officer  of  the  regular  army,  and  Colonel  Baker,  to 
whom,  after  a  time,  the  command,  or  a  part  of  the  command,  was  assigned, 
was  a  volunteer.  The  friends  of  these  two  officers  have  indulged  in  much 
angry  controversy  as  to  which  should  bear  the  blame  ;  and  on  the  one  side 
the  cause  has  been  espoused  as  if  its  appropriate  purpose  were  to  fasten  some 
stigma  on  the  volunteer  service,  and  to  determine  certain  questions  of  pre 
cedence  and  merit  between  West  Point  and  the  volunteers  of  the  Union.  A 
writer  in  the  New  York  Times  stated,  some  time  ago,  that  the  friends  of 
Colonel  Baker  would  move  an  investigation,  but  that  they  had  better  not,  for 
if  they  did,  the  friends  of  General  Stone  would  retaliate,  and  make  it  recoil 
upon  Baker  and  damage  his  memory.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  no  sympathy  with 
this  controversy  to  indulge  in  here.  I  have  no  patience  with  it  as  an  obstacle 
to  investigation.  The  effect  of  disclosing  the  truth  on  either  of  these  officers 
or  on  both  of  them  ought  not  in  my  judgment  to  weigh  one  feather  against 
an  investigation  being  had.  Hit  whom  it  may,  I  believe  the  truth  should  be 
known.  Suppose  its  revelation  shall  shorten  the  plume  of  a  dead  Senator — 
what  then  ?  Is  that  a  reason,  in  a  great  public  concern  like  this,  why  we 


Jan,  1862]       ENQUIR  Y  CONCERNING  BALLS  BLUFF,         I/I 

should  hush  investigation,  or  falsify  the  truth  of  history?  Suppose,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  turns  out  that  a  brigadier-general,  bred  at  West  Point,  an  offi 
cer  of  the  regular  Army,  holding  the  acting  position  of  a  major-general,  com 
manding  a  division  containing  thousands  of  our  countrymen,  charged  with 
their  safety,  their  honor,  and  their  lives  ;  suppose,  I  say,  it  turns  out  that 
such  a  brigadier-general  is  a  martinet  and  not  a  soldier  ;  suppose  he  turns  out 
to  be  half-way,  either  in  his  soldiership  or  his  loyalty  ;  is  that  a  reason  why 
investigation  should  be  muzzled  or  throttled  out  of  regard  to  his  feelings  or 
the  feelings  of  his  caste  ?  Shall  we  proclaim  indulgence  for  ignorance  and 
incompetency,  immunity  for  barbarous  negligence,  silence  for  military  crimes? 
"  On  the  2ist  of  October,  Leesburgh,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  was  occu 
pied  by  insurgents.  The  force  with  which  they  held  it  amounted  to  not  less 
than  six  thousand  men.  At  the  same  time  Poolsville,  in  the  State  of  Mary 
land,  was  occupied  by  Union  forces,  and  was  the  headquarters  of  a  brigadier- 
general.  Between  these  two  positions,  thus  occupied,  there  rolled  a  swift 
and  swollen  river,  with  an  island  in  the  channel,  nearest  the  Maryland  side, 
three  miles  in  length  and  two  hundred  yards  across.  On  the  same  side  of  the 
river  with  Leesburgh,  and  within  a  day's  march  of  that  place,  lay  General 
McCall,  commanding  a  division  containing  fifteen  regiments,  which  mustered 
fully  eleven  thousand  men.  If  Leesburgh  were  to  be  attacked,  or  if  a  recon- 
noissance  in  force  were  to  be  made  in  that  direction,  one  of  the  first  won 
ders  in  this  case  is,  that  the  work  should  have  been  assigned  to  General 
Stone's  division,  divided  as  it  was  from  the  scene  of  action  by  a  great  river 
— indeed  by  two  great  rivers — when  the  division  of  General  McCall  was 
within  a  day's  march  of  the  spot,  with  neither  river,  mountain,  nor  barrier  to 
be  traversed.  Those  who,  stimulated  by  curiosity  not  unnatural  at  a  time 
like  this,  have  refreshed  their  military  history,  or  dipped  into  military  books, 
or  picked  up  the  current  smattering  of  military  knowledge,  have  not  failed  to 
observe  that  a  river  unbridged  and  unfordable  is  a  perilous  obstacle  to  a 
military  advance.  Of  all  the  barriers  not  absolutely  impassable,  nothing— if 
ordinary  sources  of  information  are  to  be  relied  upon — is  to  be  so  much 
dreaded  by  an  attacking  army,  so  much  to  be  shunned  at  any  cost,  as  a  deep, 
rapid,  stream,  without  wharfage  or  bridges  ;  and  this  is  true  even  when  means 
of  floating  transportation  are  abundant  and  prepared.  Common  sense  has 
so  much  to  do  with  this,  that  any  man  who  has  ever  seen  artillery  move,  may, 
without  presumption,  assume  to  know  and  comprehend  it." 

An  outline  of  the  conditions  may  be  stated. 

Stone,  with  headquarters  at  Poolsville,  Maryland,  sup 
posed  McCall  with  a  considerable  force  to  be  at  Darnsville. 
McClellan  had  ordered  him  to  reconnoitre  toward  Lees 
burgh.  He  ordered  Stone  to  demonstrate  in  force.  Stone 
sent  Colonel  Devens  over,  with  part  of  his  regiment,  also 
Colonel  Lee,  both  of  Massachusetts.  Later,  he  ordered 


172  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Dec.  1861- 

Baker  out,  with  his  cavalry  regiment,  recruited  in  Phila 
delphia.  In  front  of  Ball's  Bluff  is  Harrison's  Island,  which 
had  to  be  crossed,  involving  two  shipments  and  landings. 
The  transit  from  Maryland  was  made  in  three  scows,  carry 
ing  in  all  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  men.  Between  the 
island  and  the  Virginia  bank,  a  small  metallic  life-boat  and 
two  skiffs  were  used,  which  altogether  would  hold  thirty- 
five.  The  bluff  was  some  sixty  feet  high,  and  very  steep, 
up  which,  a  single  path  wound.  There  was  a  cleared  field 
at  the  top  surrounded  by  woods.  At  Edwards'  Ferry 
Stone  sent  over  some  men,  under  Gorman.  McCall  re 
tired  from  Darnsville  Monday  A.M.,  of  which  Baker  had 
no  notice.  The  battle  was  fought  Monday  P.M.  When 
Baker,  who  was  left  at  discretion  to  go  from  Harrison's 
Island  to  reinforce  Devens  and  take  command,  decided  to 
do  so,  he  had  a  right  to  expect  aid  if  needed,  both  from 
McCall  and  Gorman.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  super 
vision  by  McClellan,  the  General-in-Chief,  nor  did  Stone 
direct  Gorman  to  aid  Baker,  to  whom  orders  were  un 
necessary,  since  the  sound  of  battle  would  have  been  a 
trumpet  call  to  him.  I  quote  further  from  Mr.  Conkling, 
who  supposed  there  were  four  scows,  two  in  each  channel. 
These  four  boats  constituted  the  whole  means  of  trans 
portation  upon  which  the  expedition  was  based. 

"These  boats  have  been  called  scows,  and  I  have  taken  some  pains  to 
know  what  they  were.  They  were  flat-boats,  made  of  hemlock,  I  think, 
inch  and  a  quarter  or  an  inch  and  a  half  stuff.  They  were  about  twenty 
feet  in  length  and  of  corresponding  width.  They  had  no  oars  nor  any  other 
means  of  motion.  There  was,  as  I  said,  no  rope  nor  hawser  to  work  them 
by.  They  were  navigated  when  loaded  by  being  poled  up-stream  and  out 
into  the  current,  and  then  allowed  to  drift  or  float  down  and  across  until 
they  struck  the  bank  on  the  other  side.  Sometimes  they  would  strike  at  the 
landing-place,  sometimes  they  would  hit  the  shore  far  below,  and  be  hauled 
and  poled  back  to  the  landing  place. 

"  These  boats  were  of  sufficient  capacity  to  carry  about  half  a  company, 
some  thirty-five  men  each,  and  the  average  time  occupied  in  crossing  from 
Maryland  to  the  island  was  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  leaving  the 
island  and  the  remaining  channel  still  to  be  traversed.  The  House  will  get 


J  an .  1862]       ENQ  UIK  Y  CONCERNING  BALLS  BL  UFF.         I  73 

some  idea  of  the  rapidity  with  which  this  transportation  could  be  carried  on 
by  the  operations  of  the  night  previous  to  the  day  of  which  I  am  speaking. 
Before  Colonel  Baker  is  understood  to  have  had  command  of  the  expedi 
tion,  Colonel  Devens  was  ordered  to  cross  two  companies  of  the  Massa- 
chussets  1 5th.  He  did  cross  them.  He  commenced  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  it  was  sunrise  before  he  was  ready  to  take  up  the  line  of 
march,  showing  that  more  than  an  hour  was  necessary  for  the  purpose  of 
throwing  one  company  from  the  Maryland  shore  to  Ball's  Bluff. 

"  Colonel  Baker's  orders  came  to  him  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  found  him  sleeping  in  his  tent.  He  commenced  his  crossing  at  sunrise. 
Without  any  wharf  to  lie  to,  without  any  hawser  or  rope  to  stretch  across 
the  river,  the  embarkation  and  transportation  of  troops,  cannon,  and  muni 
tions  of  war  was,  of  course,  a  slow  and  tantalizing  process.  Eleven  o'clock 
had  come  when  only  a  commencement  had  been  made.  At  this  time  a  boat 
was  found  in  the  canal,  and  measures  was  taken  to  transfer  it  to  the  river. 
Whether  this  was  observed  on  the  other  side  I  cannot  say,  but  the  time  had 
come  when  it  was  too  late  to  mend  the  matter  or  correct  mistakes,  for  the 
rebel  fire  had  opened  upon  the  slender  detachment  which  had  crossed. 
From  that  time  the  boats  began  to  pole  back  with  the  bleeding  and  the 
slain.  The  house  on  Harrison's  Island  had  already  become  a  hospital,  and 
every  room  in  it  was  occupied  by  wounded  and  dying  men." 

His  description  of  the  battle  was  striking.  Baker  had 
1700  men,  and  was  assaulted  by  the  rebel  General  Evans, 
with  4000,  who  attacked  under  cover  of'  the  woods. 
Assailed  thus,  he  must  hold  his  position.  He  had  no 
means  of  retreat.  A  smaller  number  might  have  escaped 
by  the  boats;  but  the  1700  had  only  to  stand  fast  and 
perish. 

Nobly  did  they  fulfil  their  destiny.  Desperate  stub 
bornness  and  heroic  courage  served  only  to  gild  with 
glory  that  bloody  picture  of  their  fate. 

4 '  In  an  hour,  in  less  than  an  hour,  the  field  was  a  hell  of  fire,  raging  from 
every  side.  The  battle  was  lost  before  it  had  begun.  It  was,  from  the 
outset,  a  mere  sacrifice,  a  sheer  immolation,  without  a  promise  of  success  or 
a  hope  of  escape.  It  was  worse  than  the  charge  of  the  Light  Brigade,  and 
as  England's  poet  has  said  of  the  six  hundred  : 

"  '  Cannon  to  right  of  them, 
Cannon  to  left  of  them, 
Cannon  in  front  of  them, 
Volleyed  and  thundered.' 


174  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [Dec.  1861- 

"  Well  might  the  historian  here  ejaculate  with  the  poet  there  : 
"  '  Some  one  has  blundered.' 

"  We  all  know  the  result.  Those  who  did  not  die  upon  the  field  were 
forced  down  the  steep  bank  behind  them  to  the  brink  of  the  river.  Here, 
to  save  their  arms  from  the  enemy,  they  threw  them  into  the  stream,  and 
many  sought,  and  more  found  a  watery  grave.  The  last  act  of  this  terrible 
tragedy  of  blunders  was  the  most  sickening  and  appalling  of  all.  The  flat- 
boat,  which  by  poling  and  drifting  had  been  made  to  ply  between  the  island 
and  the  bluff,  now  too  heavily  laden  with  the  mangled,  the  weary,  and  the 
dying,  went  down,  the  quick  and  the  dead  together,  in  one  struggling  mass. 
Leesburgh  was  illuminated  that  night,  illuminated  by  patricides  and  rebels, 
and  another  laurel  was  added  to  Big  Bethel,  Bull  Run,  the  blockade  of  the 
Potomac,  and  the  tame  surrender  of  arms  in  the  navy-yards  and  arsenals. 

"  Such,  Mr.  Speaker,  was  the  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff.  Such  it  stands  to 
day  upon  the  page  of  history.  The  mourners  for  that  battle — those  who 
suffered  most  severely  in  it — are  the  States  of  New  York,  Massachusetts, 
and  Pennsylvania.  To  those  States  it  was  the  battle  of  Cannae,  for  the 
very  pride  and  flower  of  their  young  men  were  among  its  victims.  No 
wonder  that  the  army  and  the  country  burn  with  indignation  at 

"  '  The  deep  damnation  of  their  taking  off.' 

"  I  assume  that  an  attack  on  Leesburgh,  or  a  movement  upon  it,  was  justi 
fiable  at  the  time,  and  then  I  direct  attention  to  the  following  propositions, 
in  the  light  of  the  facts  at  which  I  have  glanced. 

"  In  the  first  place,  the  division  of  General  McCall,  numbering  eleven 
thousand  men,  was  on  the  same  side  of  the  river  with  Leesburgh,  and 
within  a  few  hours'  march,  uninterrupted  by  any  formidable  barrier,  and  yet 
these  troops  were  not  employed  in  the  attack,  nor  made  use  of  at  all,  but 
another  division  was  selected  lying  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Potomac. 

"  In  the  second  place,  the  point  of  crossing  selected  was  one  of  the  worst 
and  most  dangerous  to  be  found  for  many  miles. 

"  In  the  third  place,  there  was  a  want  of  transportation,  insomuch  that 
adequate  means  of  crossing  were  wholly  unprovided,  although  they  might 
easily  have  been  procured. 

*'  In  the  fourth  place,  the  number  of  men  sent  over  to  Ball's  Bluff  was 
wholly  insufficient,  and  this  though  more  than  the  needed  number  were  close 
at  hand. 

"  In  the  fifth  place,  no  reinforcements  came  to  the  rescue,  although,  aside 
from  the  command  of  General  McCall,  there  were  troops  and  artillery  on 
both  sides  of  the  river,  and  -within  four  miles  of  the  field  of  battle,  while  the 
engagement  was  progressing. 

"  All  these  grounds  of  censure  may  be  answered.  If  they  can  be  explained 
it  is  just  to  the  living  and  the  dead  that  an  opportunity  should  be  afforded. 
If  they  cannot  be  explained,  then,  for  reasons  higher  still,  inquiry  ought  not 


Jan.  1862]      ENQUIRY  CONCERNING  BALL'S  BLUFF.         1?$ 

to  slumber.  We  have  had  long  chapters  of  accidents  for  which  no  one  is 
blamed,  though  some  one  is  to  blame.  Battles  and  positions  given  away,  and 
no  court-martial,  no  court  of  inquiry,  no  one  shot,  no  one  disgraced — nothing 
but  promotions  growing  out  of  inglorious  occurrences.  My  particular  object 
to-day  is  to  learn  whether  the  military  authorities  have  in  any  manner  looked 
into  the  proceedings  of  the  2ist  of  October,  on  the  upper  Potomac,  and  in 
order  to  obtain  that  information  I  offer  the  following  resolution  : 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  said  answer  [of  the  Secretary  of  War]  is  not  re 
sponsive  nor  satisfactory  to  the  House,  and  that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to 
return  a  further  answer.'  "  J 

The  debate  became  general  and  serious.  Lovejoy  put 
in  the  /th  chapter  of  Joshua. 

Wickliffe  offered  his  usual  resolution  that  slavery  had 
been  many  times  settled. 

The  resolution  of  Mr.  Conkling  was  adopted  as  follows  : 

YEAS.— Aldrich,  Alley,  Arnold,  Babbitt,  Baker,  Baxter, 
Beaman,  Bingham,  Samuel  S.  Blair,  Blake,  Buffinton, 
Campbell,  Chamberlin,  Clark,  Colfax,  Frederick  A.  Conk- 
ling,  Roscoe  Conkling,  Conway,  Covode,  Davis,  Dawes, 
Duell,  Edwards,  Eliot,  Fenton,  Fessenden,  Franchot, 
Frank,  Gooch,  Goodwin,  Gurley,  Hale,  Hickman,  Hooper, 
Hutchins,  Julian,  Kelley,  Francis  W.  Kellogg,  William 
Kellogg,  Lansing,  Loomis,  Lovejoy,  McKean,  McPherson, 
Mitchell,  Anson  P.  Morrill,  Justin  S.  Merrill,  Olin,  Patton, 
Timothy  G.  Phelps,  Pike,  Pomeroy,  Potter,  John  H.  Rice, 
Riddle,  Edward  H.  Rollins,  Sargent,  Sedgwick,  Shanks, 
Sherman,  Sloan,  Spaulding,  Stevens,  Benjamin  F.  Thomas, 
Trimble,  Trowbridge,  Vandever,  Van  Horn,  Van  Valken- 
burgh,  Verree,  Wall,  Wallace,  Charles  W.  Walton,  E.  P. 
Walton,  Washburne,  Wheeler,  Albert  S.  White,  Wilson, 
Windom,  and  Worcester — 80. 

1  Roscoe  Conkling  always  acted,  as  upon  this  occasion,  even  at  his  best. 
When  he  closed  he  sank  into  his  seat  exhausted.  His  brother,  F.  A.  Conk 
ling,  brought  his  cloak  and  laid  it  over  his  shoulders.  Then  in  a  studied 
pose  of  his  noble  figure,  his  face  to  the  crowded  ladies'  gallery,  his  golden 
curls  clustering  about  his  fine  head,  he  affected  to  sleep.  His  speech  was 
one  of  the  most  effective  of  the  session.  I  was  the  only  one  who  congratu 
lated  him  upon  it. 


1/6       RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.      LDec, '61-Jan. '62 

NAYS.— Joseph  Baily,  Biddle,  Francis  P.  Blair,  Jacob  B. 
Blair,  George  H.  Browne,  Cobb,  Corning,  Cox,  Cravens, 
Crisfield,  Crittenden,  Delano,  Deven,  Dunlap,  Dunn, 
Fisher,  Granger,  Grider,  Haight,  Hanchett,  Harrison,  Hoi- 
man,  Horton,  Law,  Leary,  Lehman,  McKnight,  Mallory, 
Maynard,  Menzies,  Morris,  Nixon,  Noble,  Pendleton, 
Perry,  Porter,  Richardson,  Robinson,  James  S.  Rollins, 
Sheffield,  Smith,  John  B.  Steele,  William  G.  Steele,  Strat- 
ton,  Francis  Thomas,  Upton,  Vallandigham,  Wadsworth, 
Ward,  Chilton  A.  White,  Wickliffe,  Woodruff,  and  Wright 

The  main  burden  of  censure  fell  on  Stone.  He  was 
accused  of  traitorous  communication  with  the  rebels. 
Stanton  sent  him  to  Fort  Lafayette,  and  his  papers  were 
seized  and  withheld.  Wade  subpoenaed  him  before  his 
committee— as  he  did  McClellan  and  McCall.  The  result 
was  that  Stone  was  liberated  in  August  following.  No 
charges  were  ever  preferred  against  him. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  COMMITTEE  ON  THE  CONDUCT  OF  THE 

WAR. 

NOVEMBER,    1 86 1 -FEBRUARY,    1862. 

EARLY  in  this  session,  Mr.  Chandler  introduced  in  the 
Senate  a  resolution  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  the  dis 
aster  of  the  2 1st  of  July  (Bull  Run),  supplemented  by  the 
sad  affair  of  Ball's  Bluff,  and  the  fall  of  Colonel  Baker,  so 
forcibly  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  House,  as  shown  in 
the  last  chapter.  The  idea  covered  by  it  was  most  sug 
gestive.  That  was  the  origin  of  the  famous  "  Committee 
on  the  Conduct  of  the  War,"  the  most  useful  of  the 
purely  congressional  agencies  of  the  war.  The  ready 
House  caught  it  up  and  passed  a  joint  resolution,  for  a 
joint  committee  of  seven — three  of  the  Senate,  four  of 
the  House. 

Its  efficiency,  like  that  of  all  congressional  committees, 
would  depend  entirely  upon  the  qualities  and  conduct  of 
its  head.  Nobody  but  Wade  was  thought  of  for  chair 
man.  Chandler  and  Andrew  Johnson  were  with  him,  and 
Julian,  Covode,  Gooch,  and  Odell  from  the  House.1  The 
committee  (omitting  Mr.  Johnson's  name)  made  their  first 
report  by  Mr.  Wade,  soon  after  the  close  of  the  3/th 
Congress,  in  April,  1863,  which  made  three  heavy  vol- 

1  I  think  Johnson  never  acted  on  the  committee.  It  was  no  place  for  him. 
Wade  and  Chandler  were  its  two  great  men. 

12 

177 


I?8  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.    [Nov.'61-Feb. '62 

umes  of  over  two  thousand  pages.  Their  second,  made 
on  May  22,  1865,  was  a  trifle  more  in  bulk — six  volumes 
in  all,  of  over  four  thousand  pages.  I  may  only  mention 
some  of  the  leading  subjects  submitted  to  its  care  :  "  Bull 
Run,"  "  Ball's  Bluff,"  "  The  Missouri  Campaign,"  "  Fre 
mont,"  "  The  Hatteras  Expedition,"  "  Port  Royal," 
"  Burnside's  Beaufort  Exploits,"  "  Fort  Donelson,"  "  The 
Capture  of  New  Orleans,"  "  Invasion  of  Mexico,"  "  Expe 
dition  to  Accomac,"  "The  Battle  of  Winchester,"  " The 
Battle  of  the  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac"  "  The  Army  of 
the  Potomac,"  "  Battle  of  Petersburg,"  Banks's  famous 
"  Red  River  Cotton  Raid,"  and  Butler's  equally  famous 
"  Raid  on  Fort  Fisher  '  (which  Terry  afterwards  carried  by 
assault),  "  Treatment  of  Prisoners,"  "  The  Sherman-John 
son  Capitulation,"  and  many  more  events  and  incidents 
of  the  war,  important  then,  but  long  since  forgotten.  A 
large  edition,  many  thousands,  was  printed  of  these  now 
scarce  volumes,  where  is  recorded  so  much  evidence  of 
value  to  the  real  historian,  who  will  know  the  use  of 
original  evidence,  not  referred  to  by  the  generals  who  are 
now  so  busy  picturing  and  patching  their  fames.  It  is 
said  that  Wade  seldom  missed  a  session  of  the  committee. 
The  most  conscientious  of  men,  he  never  neglected  a  duty 
nor  failed  of  an  engagement. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
SIMON  CAMERON  AS  SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 

DECEMBER,  l86l-JANUARY,  1862. 
Appointment  of  Thomas  A.  Scott — Appointment  of  Edwin  M.  Stanton. 

IN  my  short,  but  to  me  memorable  journey  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lincoln  from  Cleveland  to  Painesville,  Mr.  Lin 
coln  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  Simon  Cameron.  I 
answered  that  to  me  he  was  a  mystery,  that  his  influence 
in  Pennsylvania  seemed  out  of  all  proportion  to  his  ability, 
but  that  he  was  a  wonderful  manager.  Mr.  Lincoln  re 
plied  that  he  had  the  same  impression  of  him.  I  was 
surprised  that  he  was  appointed  to  the  Cabinet,  for  I  did 
not  then  know  so  well  that  intellectual  ability  was  a  small 
factor  in  selecting  a  Cabinet  Minister.  I  became  much 
better  acquainted  with  both  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Cameron 
— indeed  I  came  to  have  very  intimate  professional  rela 
tions  with  Mr.  Cameron,  appearing  for  him  later  in  a  cause 
cttebre.  I  saw  much  of  him  in  the  War  Office.  I  soon 
became  aware  of  the  existence  of  a  bitter  feud  between 
Mr.  Stevens  and  Mr.  Cameron,  dating  back  to  the  time 
when  Cameron  was  a  Democrat,  and  perhaps  to  the  famous 
"  Buck  Shot  War  "  at  the  State  Capitol  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  which  both  had  a  hand.  He  professed  to  forgive 
Cameron,  in  consideration  of  the  radical  grounds  taken 
against  slavery  by  the  Secretary  in  his  annual  report.  I 

179 


180  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.       [Dec.  1861- 

was  present  when  some  one  announced  to  Stevens 
Cameron's  appointment  as  Minister  to  Russia,  "  Ugh ! 
Ugh !  Send  word  to  the  Czar  to  bring  in  his  things  of 
nights,"  was  his  response. 

His  methods  in  the  War  Office  seemed  to  me  very 
peculiar.  He  was  not  at  home  there,  and  had  none  of  the 
ordinary  appliances  for  business  at  hand.  In  considering 
any  official  matter,  instead  of  asking  a  secretary  or  clerk 
(I  never  found  one  in  his  room — and  the  Secretary  him 
self  appeared  usually  alone  there),  he  would  ask  you  to  give 
its  status,  and  what  he  had  said  last  about  it.  Possessed 
of  that  he  would  look  about,  find  a  scrap  of  paper,  borrow 
your  pencil,  make  a  note,  put  the  paper  in  one  pocket 
of  his  trousers  and  your  pencil  in  the  other.  A  gentle 
man  of  our  House  once  replied  to  the  question  as  to 
what  the  Secretary  said  or  did  last,  by  saying,  "  The  last 
thing  you  did  in  this  case,  Mr.  Secretary,  was  to  put  my 
pencil  in  your  pocket." 

Mr.  Thomas  A.  Scott,  the  then  rapidly  rising  young  rail 
road  monarch,  was  early  appointed  Assistant  Secretary. 
Slight  but  symmetrical,  with  a  face  as  sharply  and  beauti 
fully  cut  as  a  cameo,  he  was  the  embodiment  of  energy, 
intellect,  and  wise  unerring  judgment.  Whenever  he 
was  to  be  found  in  the  office,  what  a  relief  to  deal  with 
him,  with  his  electric  brain  and  cool,  quiet  manner.  The 
change  occurred  January  15,  1862,  and  Scott  remained 
connected  with  the  office,  organizing  transportation, 
throughout  the  war. 

I  then  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with  Edwin  M. 
Stanton,  but  I  was  destined  to  know  him  well  and  serve 
him  often.  It  is  my  intention  to  give  him  some  space 
ere  this  memoir  closes.  In  the  Life  of  Senator  Wade  I 
find  it  written  ; 

41  Largely  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Wade  for  the  advancement  of  Mr. 
Stanton  to  the  War  Office.  He  strongly  urged  him  upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  soon 
came  to  estimate  Mr.  Wade  at  his  true  value.  Stanton  had  been  the  bit- 


Jan.  1862]    SIMON  CAMERON  AS  SECRETARY  OF  WAR.      l8l 

terest  of  Democrats.  The  Republicans  then  knew  nothing  certainly  of  his 
course  in  Buchanan's  Cabinet.  His  appointment  surprised  the  Senate. 
Wade  knew  and  endorsed  him  there.  That  was  sufficient. 

"  The  army,  the  American  world,  thrilled  under  Stanton's  first  touch.  At 
his  word  everybody  moved,  except  McClellan." 

He  had  succeeded  Judge  Black  as  Attorney-General,  in 
Buchanan's  Cabinet,  and  we  know  now  that  his  stubborn 
resistance  in  Cabinet  Council  defeated  Floyd's  demand  to 
withdraw  the  garrisons  from  the  Charleston  forts.  In  that 
contest  Stanton  declared  that  to  give  up  Sumter  would  be 
a  crime  as  infamous  as  that  of  Benedict  Arnold.  Floyd, 
defeated,  retired  disgusted,  and  resigned  immediately. 

Stanton's  first  labor  was  to  prepare  and  to  secure  the 
President's  assent  to  the  famous  order  notifying  the  vari 
ous  commanders,  by  land  and  by  sea,  to  prepare  to  make 
on  the  22d  of  February  ensuing,  a  movement  upon  the 
enemy  in  their  front. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
THE  PRESIDENT'S  GENERAL  WAR  ORDER. 

FEBRUARY-APRIL,    1862. 

A  Solemn  Ceremonial  by  the  Two  Houses — Campaign  on  the  Cumberland — 
Fort  Henry  Surrendered — Fort  Donelson  Captured — Battles  of  Shiloh 
and  Corinth — The  Tide  Turned. 

WE  of  the  House,  desiring  a  solemn  ceremonial  on 
Washington's  birthday,  invited  the  Senate,  the  Executive, 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  army  and  navy  to  unite 
with  us  in  our  hall,  in  the  ceremonies.  The  ladies  and 
diplomats  were  invited  also,  and  we  ordered  a  general 
illumination  for  the  evening. 

Meantime,  we  knew  that  the  President's  second  son,  a 
handsome,  interesting  boy  of  twelve,  was  lying  dangerously 
ill.  Toward  the  close  of  the  session  of  the  2ist,  Mr. 
Knapp,  of  Illinois,  arose  and  said  :  "  Mr.  Speaker,  I  desire 
to  offer  the  following  resolution  : 

"  '  Entertaining  the  deepest  sentiments  of  sympathy  and  condolence  with 
the  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  family  in  their  present  affliction, 
by  the  death  of  his  son, 

11  '  Resolved,  That  this  House  do  now  adjourn.'  " 

To  this  was  added  the  following  : 

"  Resolved  further,  That  in  view  of  this  afflicting  event,  the  Commissioner 
of  Public  Buildings  be  requested  to  omit  the  illumination  of  the  public  build 
ings  to-morrow  night." 

The  House  agreed  to  these  resolutions  and  adjourned. 

182 


Feb.-April  1862]        GENERAL    WAR  ORDER.  183 

Iii  the  Senate,  Saturday,  February  22<d,  the  following 
proceedings  took  place  : 

The  Vice-President  laid  before  the  Senate  the  following 
communication  : 

' '   To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  : 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States  was  last  evening  plunged  into  afflic 
tion  by  the  death  of  a  beloved  child.  The  heads  of  the  departments,  in  con 
sideration  of  this  distressing  event,  have  thought  it  would  be  agreeable  to 
Congress  and  to  the  American  people  that  the  official  and  private  buildings 
occupied  by  them  should  not  be  illuminated  in  the  evening  of  the  22d 
instant. 

"  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 
S.  P.  CHASE. 
E.  M.  STANTON. 
GIDEON  WELLES. 
EDWARD  BATES. 
M.  BLAIR. 
"  WASHINGTON,  February  21,  1862." 

Mr.  Hale  submitted  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
considered  by  unanimous  consent,  and  agreed  to : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Senate,  entertaining  the  deepest  sentiments  of  con 
dolence  with  the  President  in  his  present  affliction,  in  the  death  of  his  son, 
and  in  view  of  this  afflicting  event,  the  Commissioner  of  the  Public  Buildings 
be  directed  to  omit  the  illumination  of  the  public  buildings  to-night." 

WASHINGTON'S  BIRTHDAY. 

A  message  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  by  Mr. 
Etheridge,  its  Clerk,  announced  to  the  Senate  that  "  The 
House  is  now  ready  to  receive  the  Senate,  in  order  that 
the  Farewell  Address  of  George  Washington  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States  be  read  in  the  presence  of  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress,  assembled  in  pursuance  of  their  joint 
resolution  of  the  I4th  instant." 

The  Senate  thereupon  proceeded  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  accordance  with  the  published  order  of 
the  proceedings,  as  follows : 


1 84  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Feb.  1862- 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  and  the  Secretary 
of  the  Senate,  preceded  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms. 

Senators. 

The  President  and  Heads  of  the  several  Departments. 
The  Chief  Justices  and  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme 

Court  of  the  United  States. 
Representatives  from  Foreign  Governments,  near  this 

Government. 

Invited  Officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 
Distinguished   Citizens,  and  other  Invited  Guests. 

In  the  House  some  preliminaries  were  adjusted,  among 
them  the  presentation  of  the  rebel  flags  sent  to  the  Capital 
under  a  recent  act  of  Congress  as  follows  : 

"  That  the  Secretaries  of  the  War  and  Navy  Departments  be,  and  they  are 
hereby  directed  to  cause  to  be  collected  and  transmitted  to  them,  at  the  seat 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  all  such  flags,  standards,  and  colors 
as  shall  have  been,  or  may  hereafter  be  taken  by  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the 
United  States  from  their  enemies. 

"  That  all  the  flags,  standards,  and  colors  of  the  description  aforesaid^ 
which  are  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Departments  aforesaid,  and  such  as 
may  be  hereafter  transmitted  to  them,  be,  with  all  convenient  dispatch,  de 
livered  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  being,  under 
his  direction,  preserved  and  displayed  in  such  public  place  as  he  shall  deem 
proper." 

Then,  having  invited  the  ladies  on  to  the  floor,  and 
yielded  them  all  possible  space,  we  received  the  invited 
guests  ceremoniously.  Our  record  shows  thus  : 

"  Seats  in  the  Hall  had  been  prepared  for  a  large  number  of  invited 
guests. 

"  The  galleries,  with  the  exception  of  that  reserved  for  the  families  of  the 
Senators  and  Members,  had  been  densely  crowded  from  an  early  hour  in 
the  morning. 

*'  The  Members  of  the  House,  by  request  of  the  Speaker,  occupied  the 
rear  seats  in  the  hall  on  the  left  of  the  Speaker's  chair. 

"The  doors  of  the  main  entrance  to  the  hall  were  now  thrown  open,  and 
the  Members  of  the  House,  rising,  received  the  invited  guests  of  the  occa 
sion  in  the  following  order  : 


April  18621  GENERAL   WAR  ORDER.  185 

"  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate, 
preceded  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  and  the  Chaplain. 

"  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  and  its  officers  and  official  reporters. 

"  The  Heads  of  the  several  Departments. 

"  The  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

11  Distinguished  citizens  and  other  invited  guests." 

The  entrance  into  the  hall  of  the  army  and  navy 
officers,  in  full  uniform,  headed  by  General  McClellan, 
was  greeted  by  a  general  manifestation  of  applause  by  the 
galleries. 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  in  consequence 
of  the  recent  death  of  his  son,  was  not  present. 

The  Senators  were  assigned  to  seats  on  the  left  of  the 
Speaker,  in  front  of  the  members  of  the  House.  On  the 
right,  the  seats  nearest  the  main  aisle  were  occupied  in 
the  following  order,  commencing  at  the  area  fronting  the 
Clerk's  desk : 

1.  The  Heads  of  the  Departments,  of  whom  all  were 
present. 

2.  The  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  all  being  present 
except  Chief-Justice  Taney. 

3.  The  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  of  whom  about 
fifty  were  present,  consisting  of  major-generals  and  briga 
dier-generals  of  the  army,  and  officers  of  equal  rank  in 
the  navy. 

A  large  number  of  the  representatives  of  foreign  Gov 
ernments  were  present,  and  occupied  seats  on  the  right 
of  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  as  the  guests  of 
the  two  Houses. 

The  other  invited  guests,  to  the  number  of  about  two 
hundred,  including  the  heads  of  bureaus  and  many  dis 
tinguished  citizens,  occupied  seats  on  the  extreme  right. 

The  members  of  the  House  now  resumed  their  seats, 
and  the  Speaker  called  the  assembly  to  order. 

John  W.  Forney,  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  after  invoca 
tion  by  our  Chaplain,  rendered  The  Farewell  Address 
very  effectively.  Whereupon  the  Speaker  announced 


1 86  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Feb.  1862- 

that  the  proceedings  directed  by  the  two  Houses  of  Con 
gress  having  been  concluded,  the  House  would  again 
resume  its  session. 

The  Senators  and  invited  guests  then  retired  from  the 
hall. 

As  the  General-in-chief  of  the  Army  rose  to  retire, 
some  one  in  the  gallery  called  for  "  three  cheers  for 
General  George  B.  McClellan,"  which  was  most  enthu 
siastically  responded  to,  both  in  the  gallery  and  on  the 
floor  of  the  House. 

In  pursuance  of  an  order  previously  adopted,  the 
Speaker  declared  the  House  adjourned  until  the  Monday 
following,  at  twelve  o'clock  M. 

The  old  residents,  save  a  chosen  few,  had  not  then 
begun  to  look  with  favor  upon  us  and  our  doings.  They 
regarded  the  affliction  of  the  President's  family  as  a 
retributive  warning  from  God,  and  were  only  too  glad  to 
be  spared  the  humiliating  glare  of  the  intended  illumina 
tion  of  the  city. 

The  winter  proved  exceptionally  mild,  especially  along 
the  lines  of  the  belligerent  armies,  and  we  of  the  House 
who  urged  vigor  and  real  war,  were  restive  under  the 
frozen  torpor  of  McClellan.  True,  at  the  close  of  our 
ceremonies  of  the  22d,  the  galleries  cheered  him  valor- 
ously,  but  not  a  few  mentally  hissed  him. 

Spring  would  soon  return,  and  we  were  hopeful.  In 
the  meantime  things  were  silently  preparing  in  the  south 
west  for  a  surprise  to  both  sides. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  1861  had  closed  very 
gloomily;  and  the  opening  of  1862  brought  little  to  en 
courage  the  despondent.  I  was  never  for  a  moment 
discouraged  or  in  doubt,  though  very  impatient.  Con 
sidering  the  immense  territory  and  resources  of  the  South 
and  the  warlike  character  of  her  people,  and  remember 
ing,  as  I  did,  our  defensive  war  of  the  Revolution,  I  never 
expected  the  war  to  end  in  Mr.  Seward's  sixty  days,  nor 


ApriM862]  GENERAL   WAR  ORDER.  l8/ 

that  it  could  be  terminated  on  the  first  of  July,  1862,  as 
contended  by  Mr.  Morrill  in  the  House,  in  his  very  able 
speech  on  the  Treasury  Note  bill.  We  made  ample  pro 
vision  for  gunboats  on  the  southwestern  rivers.  We 
knew  that  Captain  Foote  was  there  with  Porter  and 
Phelps,  and  a  formidable  flotilla  ;  and  we  had  an  idea 
that  a  powerful  fleet  of  them  would  sweep  down  the 
Mississippi.  We  knew  no  more  of  military  strategy  nor 
of  the  plans  of  the  War  and  Navy  Departments,  than 
did  any  other  two  hundred  men  studying  the  conditions 
involved.  Their  secrets  were  not  entrusted  to  us.  We 
knew  that  we  were  blockading  the  rebel  ports,  and  that 
we  had  a  powerful  inactive  army  along  the  two  thousand 
miles  of  northern  border,  but  to  some  of  us  this  did  not 
seem  effective.  We  wanted  to  see  heavy  columns  advancing 
upon  Richmond,  marching  through  their  territory,  seizing 
and  holding  their  strong  points,  liberating  their  slaves,  and 
cutting  off  their  communication  with  each  other.  This 
surrounding  and  skirmishing  along  their  interminable 
border  seemed  to  many  of  us  likely  to  be  forever  fruit 
less. 

We  waited  impatiently  for  the  execution  of  the  order 
of  the  President  referred  to  above. 

The  order  ran  as  follows : 

"  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  January  27,  1862. 
' '  President's  General  War  Order  No.  i. 

"  Ordered. — That  the  22d  day  of  February,  1862,  be  the  day  for  a  gen 
eral  movement  of  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  against  the 
insurgent  forces. 
4 'That  especially— 

"  The  army  at  and  about  Fortress  Monroe, 
The  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
The  Army  of  Western  Virginia, 
The  army  near  Mumfordsville,  Kentucky, 
The  army  and  flotilla  at  Cairo, 
And  a  naval  force  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
be  ready  for  a  movement  on  that  day. 


188  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.    [Feb,-ApriM862 

"That  all  the  forces,  both  land  and  naval,  with  their  respective  com 
manders,  obey  existing  orders  for  the  time,  and  be  ready  to  obey  additional 
orders  when  duly  given. 

"  That  the  Heads  of  Departments,  and  especially  the  Secretaries  of  War 
and  of  the  Navy,  with  all  the  subordinates,  and  the  General-in-Chief,  with  all 
other  commanders  and  subordinates  of  land  and  naval  forces,  will  severely 
be  held  to  their  strict  and  full  responsibilities  for  the  prompt  execution  of 
this  order. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN." 

Of  course  McClellan  waited  till  the  rebels  evacuated 
Manassas,  early  in  March,  for  purposes  of  their  own,  at 
which  time  he  was  relieved  of  all  command  over  the 
armies  of  the  other  departments. 

The  army  near  Mumfordsville  was  Buell's  command. 
The  army  and  flotilla  at  Cairo  were  Halleck's  command, 
and  with  him  were  Grant  and  Foote.  Everything  there 
was  already  in  motion  ;  Grant  and  Foote  needed  no  re 
minder  from  the  Chief  Executive.  The  squadron  under 
Foote  captured  Fort  Henry  on  the  Tennessee  February 
9th,  the  first  news,  probably,  that  we  had  definitely  re 
ceived  of  that  rebel  post.  This  placed  our  army  nearly 
in  the  rear  of  Columbus,  and  near  the  railroad  connection 
between  that  place  and  Bowling  Green,  the  headquarters 
of  Joseph  E.  Johnston's  right  wing.  Fort  Donelson  was 
surrendered,  after  a  series  of  bloody  battles,  on  the  i6th, 
six  days  before  the  advance  under  the  general  order. 

Then  came  a  scampering  from  Paducah;  Island  No.  10 
was  reduced  ;  Foote  defeated  the  rebel  flotilla  at  Mem 
phis,  and  the  armies  on  both  sides  concentrated.  The 
rebels  surprised  our  forces  on  Sunday  morning,  April  6th, 
and  brought  on  one  of  the  great,  though  indecisive,  bat 
tles  of  the  world — Shiloh — or,  as  we  called  it,  Pittsburg 
Landing,  the  turning  point  of  the  year-old  war.  That 
was  followed  by  the  successful  battle  of  Corinth,  fought 
not  twenty  miles  from  the  scene  of  Shiloh. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 
THE  BRILLIANT  TENNESSEE  CAMPAIGN. 

JANUARY-FEBRUARY,    1862. 

A  Wonderful  Stroke  of  Military  Genius — Inquiry  for  its  Author — Anna 

Ella  Carroll. 

NONE  of  our  later  generations  can  ever  understand  the 
wide  and  deep  emotions  of  joy  and  gratitude  with  which 
their  fathers  and  mothers  hailed  the  news  of  these  late 
victories,  news  dispelling  the  gloom  that  had  shrouded 
the  entire  North.  We  of  the  House  shared  this  feeling 
to  the  utmost,  and  we  thanked  everybody.  Even  Val- 
landigham,  in  a  moment  of  utter  forgetfulness,  offered  a 
resolution  of  thanks  to  Halleck.  Finally,  we  began  to 
surmise  that  there  must  have  been  a  remarkable  stroke  of 
genius  in  the  conception  of  this  short,  decisive,  and  won 
derful  campaign,  and  on  inquiry  we  were  surprised  that  it 
was  not  claimed  for  Halleck,  Grant,  or  Buell,  nor  in  fact 
for  anybody.  There  was  a  world  of  innocent  wondering 
over  this,  as  the  campaign  certainly  did  not  manage  itself. 
There  was  apparent  in  the  record,  even  to  us,  the  concep 
tion  of  a  really  wonderful  brain.  Whose  was  it  ? 

We  had  heard  Frank  Blair,  then  a  colonel  or  general, 
assail  Fremont,  justifying  his  recall  from  Missouri,  an 
attack  in  which  Frank  showed  much  skill  and  some  of  the 
Blair  spirit,  and  to  which  Colfax  replied,  defending  the 
unlucky  general.  Fremont  had  already  been  criticised 

189 


1 90  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR  TIMES.        [Jan.  1862- 

by  Adjutant-General  Thomas,  who  with  Cameron  had 
visited  his  headquarters,  but  even  these  astute  masters  of 
war  were  mute  on  this  question.  Stanton,  and  even  Lin 
coln,  were  approached,  but  said  "  the  public  service  re 
quired  secrecy."  The  world  might  never  know,  and 
indeed  it  never  has  generally  known.  Finally,  it  was 
talked  of  a  good  deal  in  the  House,  and  Olin  and  others 
threatened  to  send  a  question  to  the  War  Office,  but  we 
remembered  the  fate  of  our  inquiry  about  Ball's  Bluff, 
and  remained  silent.  Much  the  same  thing  happened  in 
the  Senate,  though  some,  among  them — Wade,  knew  the 
truth.  All  this  time  there  sat  daily  in  the  galleries  a 
short,  stout,  middle-aged  maiden  lady,  intently  listening 
through  an  ear  trumpet  to  the  ineffective  talk  which  was 
sure  to  break  out  over  our  resolutions  of  thanks.  This  lady 
knew  all  the  time ;  she  was  Anna  Ella  Carroll,  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Governor  Thomas  King  Carroll,  and  grand 
daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  King,  of  Maryland.  She  it  was 
who  had  stood  so  bravely  by  stout  Governor  Hicks  in  his 
war  to  retain  Maryland.  She  pulverized  Breckinridge's 
great  secession  speech,  and  was  thanked  by  members  of 
the  Cabinet  and  by  Senators.  She  had  made  such  valua 
ble  suggestions  to  the  President,  showing  such  aptitude 
(genius  we  should  call  it  in  a  man)  for  affairs,  and  for 
schemes  and  plans  of  campaign,  that  at  the  suggestion  of 
Thomas  Scott,  Assistant  Secretary  of  War,  the  President 
sent  her  to  St.  Louis  to  advise  as  to  an  expedition  down 
the  Mississippi.  She  went,  held  counsel  with  the  most 
experienced  river  pilots,  and  advised  against  it,  and  her 
reasons  were  so  satisfactory  that  the  scheme  was  aban 
doned.  She  returned  to  Washington  with  the  matured 
plan  of  the  Tennessee  campaign,  and  when  it  was  shown 
to  the  President  by  Mr.  Scott,  the  President  ordered  its 
execution.  She  was  a  woman,  and  that  fact  would  dis 
credit  all  the  generals  and  professionals  in  the  army,  and 
"  the  good  of  the  service  "  required  that  she  should  be  sup- 


Feb.  18621     THE  BRILLIANT  TENNESSEE  CAMPAIGN.      IQI 

pressed,  and  suppressed  she  was.  All  this  came  out  when 
want  and  illness  drove  her  to  Congress  in  1871,  and  though 
committees  of  both  Houses  made  the  strongest  reports  in 
her  favor,  she  has,  like  other  great  benefactors,  sunk  in 
neglect  and  out  of  public  gaze  until  now.  And  now  it  is 
earnestly  hoped  that  the  services  of  this  woman,  whose 
unaided  brain  changed  the  fortunes  of  the  war,  and  whose 
plans,  if  followed  out,  might  have  ended  the  rebellion  in 
twelve  months,  may  at  least  be  acknowledged  ere  the 
earth  close  over  her.1 

Meantime  we  had  the  thrill-tragic,  for  the  loss  of  our 
wooden  frigates  at  Hampton  Roads,  and  the  thrill-trium 
phant  at  the  dramatic  appearance  of  the  Monitor,  and  the 
defeat  of  the  Merrimac.  There  was  terror  at  the  possi 
bility  (were  it  not  for  the  Monitor)  of  a  visit  to  the 
Capitol  by  the  dreaded  invulnerable  ram,  from  the  work 
of  which  the  rebels  expected  to  gain  the  independence  of 
their  Confederacy.  When  he  recovered  from  the  effects 
of  the  powder  and  cement  blown  into  his  eyes,  we  had 
Worden,  the  Monitor  s  commander,  on  the  floor  of  the 
House.  He  was  twice  recommended  for  promotion,  and 
early  retired  a  rear-admiral. 

1  I  became  familiar  with  her  case,  and,  aided  by  three  or  four  of  the 
"  strong-minded,"  placed  it  again  before  the  present  Congress,  and,  though 
no  journal  would  advocate  her  claim,  with  some  prospect  of  success,  April  9, 
1892.  She  died  in  February,  1893.  At  this  date,  April  6,  1893,  the  case 
remains  as  above. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

REVIEW  OF  LAWS  ENACTED  BY  THE  THIRTY- 
SEVENTH  CONGRESS. 

THE  LONG  SESSION.      DEC.  l86l-JULY  1862. 

Recapitulation  of  General  Laws — Laws  for  the  District  of  Columbia — The 
Division  of  Virginia. 

I  HAVE  glanced  at  some  of  the  scenes  of  the  war  to 
show  their  reflex  action  upon  Congress. 

We  finally  saw  McClellan  on  his  winding  way  to  the 
rebel  capital  via  the  Peninsula,  and  then  we  saw  him  on 
his  way  back.  General  Pope  (who  was  a  son-in-law  of 
Representative  Cutler  of  Ohio)  was  invited  to  the  floor 
of  the  House  during  his  brief  campaign. 

Every  day,  and  often  all  the  hours  of  the  day,  were 
given  to  work,  and  to  work  of  the  most  exacting  char 
acter,  and  I  believe  that  the  House  perfected  more  than 
had  ever  before  been  accomplished  in  a  single  session. 
We  matured  and  passed  appropriation  bills  exclusively 
on  account  of  the  war,  for  the  army  and  navy,  aggre 
gating  more  than  $1,000,000,000.  Besides  providing  for 
all  the  civil  wants  of  the  Government,  we  perfected 
and  passed  during  the  session  the  following  acts  which 
went  into  the  volume  of  general  and  permanent  law: 
"  The  National  Bank  Act,"  already  referred  to  ;  "  An  Act 
to  Establish  a  Department  of  Agriculture,"  an  Act  to 

192 


Dec,'61-July '62]    LA  WS  OF  3JTH  CONGRESS.  193 

Secure  Homesteads  to  Actual  Settlers  on  the  Public  Do 
main,"  "  An  Act  Authorizing  Diplomatic  Relations  with 
Hayti  and  Liberia,"  "  An  Act  to  Protect  the  Property  of 
Indians  who  have  Adopted  the  Habits  of  Civilized  Life," 
"  An  Act  Chartering  a  Pacific  Railroad  Company,"  etc.  ; 
"  An  Act  to  Punish  Polygamy  in  the  Territories,"  etc.  ; 
"An  Act  to  Donate  Lands  to  Agricultural  Colleges," 
"An  Act  in  Reference  to  the  Foreign  Slave  Trade." 
For  the  District  of  Columbia  many  important  laws  were 
passed :  one  "  Establishing  a  General  System  of  Common 
Schools  "  ;  one  "  Creating  Schools  for  the  Education  of 
Colored  Children,"  the  first  in  our  history  ;  "  An  Act 
Regulating  Highways,"  "  An  Act  to  Incorporate  the 
Washington  and  Georgetown  Railroad  Company,"  "  An 
Act  Reconstructing  the  Jury  Laws  of  the  District,"  "  An 
Act  to  Incorporate  the  Guardians  Society  for  the  Refor 
mation  of  Juvenile  Offenders,"  "An  Act  for  the  Collec 
tion  of  Fines  and  Penalties,"  etc.  ;  "  An  Act  Regulating 
the  Sale  of  Spirituous  Liquors."  These  were  among  the 
labors  of  that  great  session,  which  adjourned  the  I7th 
of  July  1862. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  a  self-created  and  self-sus 
tained  convention  of  Virginia,  west  of  the  mountains, 
after  the  secession  of  that  State.  On  the  3ist  of  Decem 
ber,  1862,  Congress  passed  the  act  dividing  the  State, 
recognizing  a  "  jacket-pocket  "  State  government,  with 
Pierpont  as  Governor,  and  a  small  and  select  body  of 
Alexandrians  as  the  Virginia  Legislature.  It  seemed  to 
me  then  that  the  doctrine  of  legal  fictions  was  being  seri 
ously  strained,  but  I  remembered  Mount  Vernon  and 
the  recession  of  Alexandria  County,  and  I  voted  for 
the  act. 

Mr.  Sumner  had  introduced  into  the  Senate  his  favorite 
scheme  of  declaring  the  seceded  States  so  much  vacant 
territory,  so  far  as  civil  government  was  concerned,  and 
dividing  this  territory  into  portions  of  convenient  size, 


194  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [Dec.  1861- 

which  were  severally  to  go  through  a  needed  pupilage, 
and  were  to  be  admitted  again  as  States  when  duly  pre 
pared.  The  old  States  and  their  names  were  to  be 

"  Nameless  here  for  evermore," 

save  in  history. 

Much  could  be  said  in  favor  of  this  scheme,  and  he  said 
the  most  for  it,  and  the  idea  had  some  support  in  both 
Houses.  In  the  debate  on  the  Confiscation  Bill,  Mr.  Rid 
dle  gave  his  views  of  the  Sumner  scheme.  It  was  con 
tended  by  Sumner  that  the  act  of  rebellion  had  worked  a 
legal  dissolution  of  the  States  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
law.  Mr.  Riddle  contended  that,  as  political  entities,  the 
States  were  indestructible.  They  were  older  than  the 
Constitution,  and  in  contemplation  of  the  law  they  were 
all  present  at  its  formation.  The  States  made  the  Con 
stitution  and  General  Government ;  the  Constitution  did 
not  make  the  States,  nor  was  it  necessary  to  their  perpetu 
ity.  Government  being  not  temporary  but  perpetual, 
they  who  consent  to  it  cannot  remain  in  its  territory  and 
withdraw  their  allegiance  ;  a  State  having  come  into  the 
nation  of  States  cannot  withdraw.  For  national  purposes, 
the  Constitution  by  adoption  had  become  the  law  of  the 
land.  Destroy  a  State,  and  there  on  its  soil  you  find  the 
Constitution — ineradicably  there,  asserting  itself  and  vin 
dicating  the  right  of  the  State  to  exist  as  a  State  with  a 
Republican  form  of  government.  Conquest  even  does 
not,  can  not,  eradicate  it. 

The  whole  ground  was  covered  by  him  in  an  elementary 
way,  as  was  the  question  of  the  punishment  of  the  rebels. 
There  were  many  great  States  full  of  them,  the  victims  of 
a  wide  brain  plague,  rather  than  the  doers  of  intentional 
crimes.  They  were  American  citizens  of  organized  States, 
still  in  active  existence,  and  it  would  be  easier  to  subdue 
and  win  them  back,  than  to  attempt  to  efface  their  State 
lines  and  names  or  to  force  upon  them  new  forms.  This 


July  1862]  LAIVS  OF  jtfTH  CONGRESS.  195 

people  was  not  to  be  exterminated  or  extradited — they 
were  to  be  the  units,  the  integers,  of  the  proposed  new 
States.  Mr.  Riddle  pronounced  therefore  against  the  whole 
scheme. 

It  seems  to  me  impossible  to  reduce  to  a  consistent  and 
in  any  way  a  symmetrical  narrative  the  varied  and  widely 
diffused  labors  of  a  session  of  the  American  Congress. 
The  history  of  a  single  bill  may  be  so  treated,  and  some 
thing  of  the  spirit  of  its  discussions  preserved,  but  there  is 
and  can  be  no  continuous  narration  of  all  the  events  of  a 
session,  and  no  such  complete  history  has  been  attempted. 
I  note  here  two  episodes  of  my  own  experience  of  that 
session,  as  showing  something  of  the  spirit  of  the  congres 
sional  life  of  that  strange  time. 

In  the  gloomy  days  of  early  February,  Sam  Cox  came  to 
me  to  arrange  for  himself  and  two  of  his  friends  apian  for 
obtaining  the  floor — though  they  must  have  known  I  was 
no  favorite  with  the  Speaker.  Still,  I  had  served  some  of 
them  before.  The  trouble  for  them  was,  that  in  Committee 
of  the  Whole  on  the  State  of  the  Union,  the  Republican 
chairman,  did  not,  as  a  rule,  favor  them.  I  asked  him  for 
the  name  of  a  Democrat  whom  he  would  prefer  for  the 
chair,  and  had  no  difficulty  with  the  Speaker.  The  next 
day  the  House  was  not  in  working  mood  (as  it  sometimes 
was  not),  and  I  induced  Mr.  Stevens  to  go  into  Committee 
of  the  Whole.  When  the  Speaker  called  to  the  chair  the 
Democrat  who  had  been  suggested,  it  was  understood 
that  some  old  scores  would  be  paid  off.  Cox  took  the 
floor.  The  House  usually  listened  to  him,  though  he  was 
not  popular  on  our  side.  His  wit  had  a  sting,  as  wit 
always  has.  He  proceeded  at  once  to  a  severe  arraignment 
of  the  Republicans  generally,  and  among  the  sins  he  chose 
to  hold  them  responsible  for  was  my  little  John  Brown 
speech,  once  or  twice  mentioned  before,  which  he  sent  to 
the  Clerk's  desk,  where  it  was  read.  I  confess  I  was  sur 
prised  under  the  circumstances,  for  the  thing  was  ma- 


196  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Dec.  1861- 

licious  on  his  part,  but  evidently  it  did  not  prove  much  of 
a  card,  some  parts  of  the  speech  being  received  with  de 
cided  marks  of  favor  by  the  House.  I  quite  appreciated 
his  good  intentions,  and  should  have  so  expressed  myself, 
but  could  not  get  the  floor  at  the  time,  nor  did  I  during 
that  session  of  the  committee,  and  the  next  day  I  did  not 
care  to  reply.  Grow,  who  knew  how  Cox  secured  the 
floor,  thought  the  joke  on  me  too  good  to  keep,  and  the 
little  speech  lies,  with  many  better,  "  in  the  bosom  of  the 
deep  Globe  buried,"  where  it  made  about  one  column  of 
the  quarto.  My  reader  will  find  this,  a  once  much  talked 
of  effort,  in  the  Appendix.  It  proved  a  sore  matter  for 
Cox.  Cowles,  of  the  Cleveland  Leader,  heard  of  it,  and 
from  that  day,  for  twenty  years,  Cox  was  the  pillow  upon 
which  he  reposed  all  his  animosities.  He  pursued  him 
with  rancorous  venom,  and  when  called  to  account  for  it, 
published  the  incident  here  mentioned. 

I  have  spoken  of  Wadsworth  of  Kentucky.  Few  men 
have  entered  Congress  with  so  high  a  reputation  for  pub 
lic  speaking.  He  early  gave  us  an  opportunity  to  estimate 
the  justice  of  the  popular  judgment  of  him.  The  term  orator 
hardly  applies  to  any  speaker  of  our  time,  for  the  art  of 
oratory  is  lost.  Wadsworth  fully  sustained  his  home 
reputation.  He  was  strong,  piquant,  logical,  and  sarcastic, 
and  he  had  a  good  manner.  A  Henry  Clay  Whig  of  the 
old  school,  he  made  a  forcible  arraignment  of  the  Repub 
licans.  Few  of  us  felt  competent  to  reply  without  prepa 
ration,  though  several  of  us  demanded  the  Speaker's  recog 
nition.  He  very  properly  gave  the  floor  to  Bingham,  our 
readiest  and  one  of  our  strongest  men,  practised  and  at 
home  on  the  floor,  who  was  then  serving  in  his  fourth  Con 
gress.  Though  unlike  in  mind  and  manner,  the  two  were 
very  fairly  matched.  Wadsworth,  equal  to  giving  many 
hard  hits,  had  a  flexile  voice,  facile  and  easy  of  modulation, 
never  wearying.  Bingham  was  too  declamatory,  and,  like 
Kelley,  his  voice  was  monotonous.  At  fullest  tide,  it  was 


July  1862]  LAWS  OF  37  TH  CONGRESS.  197 

like  a  steady,  strong, onsvveeping  wind,  roaring  through  and 
over  a  giant  old  forest,  a  powerful,  steady,  pealing  blast. 

Wadsworth  did  not  attempt  to  rejoin — did  not  care  to. 

Some  time  afterward,  in  a  speech  of  some  length,  he 
took  occasion  to  refer  to  me  (something  in  my  utterance 
of  January  2/th  may  have  offended  Kentucky)  in  terms,  as 
I  was  told,  decidedly  injurious.  He  was  standing  midway 
between  me  and  the  Speaker,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  I 
could  hear  him — in  fact,  I  did  not  hear  a  word  of  his  at 
tack.  I  only  knew  he  had  made  one  when  I  found,  after 
the  House  had  adjourned,  that  there  was  disappointment 
at  my  not  having  claimed  the  floor.  No  one  whom  I  met 
could  or  would  tell  me  what  he  had  said,  but  all  concurred 
that  I  was  obliged  to  notice  it,  and  much  curiosity  was 
expressed  as  to  what  might  come  of  it.  It  did  not  give  me 
any  uneasiness  ;  there  might  be  occasion  for  a  privileged 
question  the  next  morning,  and  I  was  conscious  of  ability 
to  take  care  of  myself  without  troubling  my  friends.  At 
that  time  the  Globe  issued  a  daily  folio  edition — a  general 
newspaper,  with  the  debates,  a  copy  of  which  was  laid  on 
the  desks  of  members.  It  could  be  had  at  the  Globe  build 
ing  on  the  avenue,  about  1 1  A.M. — earlier  than  members 
of  Congress  usually  passed  to  the  Capitol.  I  received  a 
copy  at  that  hour,  and  opened  it  out  for  examination  as  I 
walked  along  the  empty  sidewalk.  I  turned  to  Wads- 
worth's  speech,  and  was  intently  scanning  down  the 
columns,  when  a  hand  (I  had  not  heard  a  footstep)  was 
lightly  laid  on  my  shoulder,  and  a  pleasant  voice  said  : 
"You  wont  find  it  there."  Turning,  I  found  that  it  was 
Wadsworth.  "  It  is  not  there,"  he  repeated.  "  I  listened 
to  an  unworthy  suggestion,  and  without  time  for  thought, 
said  what  I  did.  When  I  reflected,  I  expunged  it.  I  owe 
you  an  apology."  He  spoke  earnestly.  "  Luckily  I  did 
not  hear  it,"  I  replied.  "  I  only  heard  0/it,  and  between 
us  it  shall  be  as  if  unsaid.  You  have  made  the  amplest 
apology."  And  we  went  on  to  the  Capitol  together. 


198  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.    [Dec,  '61-July  '92 

We  became  at  once  and  always  remained  warm  friends. 
"  As  you  will  not  rise  to  a  question,"  he  laughingly  said, 
"  there  will  be  an  unusual  examination  of  the  Globe  this 
morning" — and  there  was. 

I  really  never  did  know  what  the  frank  Kentuckian 
said,  but  no  doubt  it  was  something  concerning  John 
Brown  or  my  speech  referred  to  above. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 
CONGRESSIONAL  ELECTION. 

MAY-SEPTEMBER,  1862. 

Congressional  Election — igth  District  Changed — Interest  in  the  igth  Ohio 
District — Greeley  Advises  to  Run  Independent — Would  Aid — The  Con 
vention — Defeat — The  Proclamation  of  September  22d — Antietam. 

O  HORACE  !  not  him  of  Venusia,  but  of  the  Tribune, 
here  is  a  bit  of  thy  chirography,  on  paper  darkened  with 
the  hue  of  time  !  I  spread  it  out  and  try  to  follow  its 
ever  wavering  flow  which  marks  it  as  one  of  the  score 
dear  indeed  to  autograph  hunter  and  collector  of  runic, 
cursive,  and  discursive  cryptograph.  I  could  once  read 
even  thee ;  now,  with  me,  as  I  fancy  with  most  living 
men,  this  has  become  a  lost  art,  but  I  can  make  the 
date  July  something,  1862,  and  at  the  end,  H.  G. 
The  letter  has  marks  showing  that  it  has  been  in  the 
hands  of  Samuel  Williamson,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  a 
marginal  note  indicates  that  in  it  Horace  Greeley  ex 
presses  a  decided  opinion  that  I  should  claim  re-election 
in  the  ipth  Ohio  District  as  an  independent  candidate, 
and  in  that  event  promises  the  aid  of  the  Tribune.  This 
chimed  in  with  my  own  not  timid  spirit.  Were  the  votes 
to  be  won  for  another — I  never  could  bring  myself  to  vote 
or  ask  others  to  vote  for  me,  so  I  once  lost  the  Speaker- 
ship  of  the  Ohio  House  through  voting  for  the  other 

199 


200  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [May  1862- 

chap,  who  did  not  vote  for  me — all  this  showing  how  un 
fit  I  was  for  partisan  politics  as  practised. 

So,  there  now  lie  by  me  my  daily  letters  written  home 
at  that  time,  in  which  I  find  early  references  to  this  matter 
of  re-election,  and  where  repugnance  to  life  in  Congress  is 
strongly  expressed,  and  regret  that  in  existing  conditions 
I  was  compelled  to  submit  to  it  for  another  two  years — if 
the  district  should  permit  that.  One  thing  personally 
pleasant  I  came  to  know,  that  many  leading  Republicans 
of  the  House  desired  my  re-election,  had  exerted  them 
selves,  as  far  as  was  decent,  to  secure  it,  and  had  managed 
to  learn  something  of  the  temper  of  my  constituency. 
Among  these  were  E.  B.  Washburne,  Olin,  Frank  Blair, 
and  Lovejoy.  Washburne  was  one  of  the  strongest  men 
in  Congress  by  reason  of  his  intellectual  ability,  will 
power,  and  character.  He  had  a  little  infirmity  of 
temper  when  he  could  not  have  his  way,  which  sometimes 
was  uncomfortable  to  those  of  us  who  wished  to  stand  by 
him.  Olin  of  New  York  and  Frank  Blair  (we  had  two  or 
three  Blairs)  became  chums;  they  had  a  way  of  going  out 
after  the  morning  hour  and  returning  at  three  or  four 
o'clock,  both  none  the  better  for  it.  Frank  sometimes 
took  a  lounge  in  the  cloak-room,  and  Olin  took  the  floor — 
if  there  was  any  opening — no  matter  what  was  up.  Olin 
was  one  of  the  able  men  ;  he  had  made  much  reputation 
by  writing  The  Covode  Report,  which  the  Pennsylvanian 
had  credit  for  throughout  the  country,  a  labor  for  which 
Covode  was  as  incapable  as  he  was  to  write  "  the  song 
that  was  Solomon's  " — another  worthy  who  made  a  repu 
tation  in  much  the  same  way.  Olin  was  placed  on  our 
District  of  Columbia  bench  later,  where  his  weakness  in 
creased  till,  in  Chief-Justice  D.  K.  Cartter's  words,  "his 
best  opinions  hardly  amount  to  aer-er  reasonable  doubt." 
Frank  later  overcame  his  unfortunate  tendency  and  came 
back  from  the  wars  robust  and  healthy.  Lovejoy  was  a 
man  of  much  more  strength  and  ability  than  the  House 


Sept.  1862]  CONGRESSIONAL  ELECTION.  2OI 

gave  him  credit  for.  A  weakness  of  temper  and  of  judg 
ment  on  the  subject  of  slavery  was  his  "  easily  besetting 
sin,"  and  if  a  thought  of  that  took  him  on  the  floor  it 
took  him  off  his  intellectual  feet.  He  at  once  went  into 
an  Achillian  rage  ;  his  face  became  inflamed,  his  speech 
vehement,  and  his  invective  something  awful ;  it  seemed 
as  if  the  flavor  of  his  murdered  brother's  blood  came 
freshly  to  him  and  drove  him  mad  for  the  time.  While 
it  lasted  the  House  remained  silent,  and  no  one  took 
notice,  in  speech,  of  the  ebullition.  He  was  perhaps  the 
worst  dressed  man  on  the  floor.  I  early  became  interested 
in  him  and  made  a  study  of  him ;  the  columns  of  the 
leading  Ohio  papers,  as  well  as  those  of  the  New  York 
Tribune  and  Evening  Post,  were  open  to  me,  and  in  one 
of  them  I  devoted  a  column  to  an  appreciative  but  dis 
criminative  analysis  of  the  man.  He  had  a  really  very 
superior  working  mind  and  was  industrious,  and  would 
certainly,  with  continued  life,  have  gone  on  to  one  of  the 
high  places ;  this  in  effect  being  the  conclusion  of  the 
paper  ;  mention  also  being  made  of  his  slovenly  and  mean 
dress  as  one  of  his  defects.  He  was  a  graduated  theo 
logian,  and  was  for  many  years  an  ordained  Congrega 
tional  minister,  and  something  of  his  training  and  mode 
of  thought  was  constantly,  though  never  offensively, 
coming  to  the  surface.  A  copy  of  the  journal,  with  the 
paper  marked,  I  had  placed  in  his  box  at  the  House,  and 
it  reached  him  at  his  desk.  I  sat  where  I  could  observe 
him  and  notice  its  seeming  effect ;  apparently  he  was 
much  pleased,  and  soon  retired  with  it  to  the  cloak-room 
and  spent  much  time  there. 

It  was  noticed  and  spoken  of  the  next  day  that  he  came 
in  neatly  dressed,  securing  the  full  benefit  of  his  really 
good,  rather  stout  figure,  and  I  believe  he  afterward  dealt 
with  slavery  in  a  more  temperate  spirit.  The  article  itself 
was  spoken  of,  but  its  authorship  never  came  out.  Love- 
joy  entered  the  38th  Congress  and  died  in  1864,  at  the 


202  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [May  1862- 

age  of  fifty-three.  He  was  capable  of  continuous  growth, 
and  might  have  reached  eminence. 

I  recall  that  these  gentlemen  expressed  a  lively  wish  for 
my  continuance  in  the  House.  Washburne  told  me  that 
the  thing  had  been  talked  over  with  Edgerton,  who  had 
been  thrown  into  my  district  by  the  Ohio  Legislature 
through  efforts  of  the  Herald,  and  that  he  had  given 
assurance  not  only  not  to  seek  a  third  election,  but  to  in 
fluence  his  friends  in  Summit  County  to  aid  me  there  ; 
indeed  something  of  this  was  mentioned  to  me  by  Mr. 
Edgerton  himself.  My  friends  in  Washington  had  no 
conception  of  the  feeling  against  me  in  my  district,  nor 
perhaps  did  they  understand  some  of  the  defects  of  my 
make-up — better  known  in  northern  Ohio.  When  con 
scious  of  perfect  integrity  of  act  and  word,  no  matter 
what  misapprehension  might  exist  as  to  my  conduct,  I 
could  never  bring  myself  to  explain  nor  to  attempt  to  do 
so.  Friends  or  opponents  were  left  to  correct  their  im 
pressions  as  they  might  ;  when  asked  in  regard  to  the 
Bull  Run  letter  I  could  only  repeat  its  statements,  and 
though  often  on  the  platform,  I  never  uttered  five  words 
on  that  theme.  People  might  live  and  die,  as  probably 
twenty  thousand  did,  who  believed  that,  to  effect  my  own 
escape  from  the  rebels,  I  had  thrown  a  wounded  soldier 
from  my  carriage  into  the  highway  to  perish  under  the 
hoofs  and  wheels  of  the  fleeing  cowards  and  the  pursuing 
rebels.  I  had  placed  the  means  of  correcting  this  impres 
sion  within  the  reach  of  every  man  and  woman  in  my 
district,  and  there  I  left  the  matter. 

Ere  Congress  adjourned,  Colonel  Parsons  returned  from 
Brazil,  and  I  got  to  understand  the  position  of  things  in 
the  Cleveland  District.  It  seems  that  Mr.  Chase  had 
managed  to  know  very  well  about  the  matter,  though  I 
had  never  troubled  him  or  any  one  else  with  it,  and  Parsons 
said  that  Chase  had  insisted  that  he  should  devote  his 
best  efforts  to  my  re-election.  I,  however,  exacted  nothing 


Sept.  1862]  CONGRESSIONAL   ELECTION.  203 

from  him,  nor  did  I  ever  solicit  the  aid  of  anybody  in  the 
business. 

During  the  vacation  of  Congress  there  was  a  notable 
excursion  to  Washington  by  three  Cleveland  gentlemen, 
Colonel  Parsons,  Dr.  Everett,  and  Mr.  Riddle.  My  ob 
ject  was  to  secure  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Everett  as 
Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  for  the  district.  Colonel 
Parsons  went  as  my  friend,  as  I  supposed,  though  not  at 
my  request.  When  we  returned  to  Cleveland,  Colonel 
Parsons  had  the  collectorship,  Mr.  Chase  saying  to  me 
that  I  was  to  be  sustained.  Perhaps  I  was. 

The  Congressional  Convention  was  called  at  an  unusu 
ally  early  day  for  that  district,  where  I  had  not  been  for 
eight  months,  and  I  returned  to  find  Judge  R.  P.  Spal- 
ding,  Mr.  Parsons's  law  partner  and  Mr.  Chase's  leading 
friend  in  the  State,  actively  in  the  field. 

I  had  many  personal  friends  in  Summit,  was  well  known 
at  the  Akron  bar,  and  was  very  kindly  received  in  the 
canvass,  and  I  found,  as  I  expected,  that  Edgerton  had 
been  announced  as  a  candidate  in  the  district  to  which  he 
had  been  transferred.1  I  addressed  a  large  mass-meeting 
in  Summit  (being  Spalding's  home),  a  meeting  which  had 
really  been  called  in  Spalding's  interest,  and  I  made  such 
hasty  arrangements  as  I  might  for  the  convention. 

I  had  decided  not.  to  follow  Mr.  Greeley's  advice.  Who 
was  I  and  my  small  affairs  that  I  should  make  a  bitter 
quarrel  and  war  in  the  Republican  camp,  in  the  most  im 
portant  district  of  the  State  ?  Spalding  was  older  and 
more  widely  known,  and  was  doubtless  esteemed  the 
abler  man.  Let  the  district  within  the  party  settle  it. 
Reuben  Hitchcock,  of  the  Peace  Congress,  residing  at 
Painesville,  a  warm  personal  friend  of  mine,  an  eminent 
and  popular  man,  was  in  the  field  in  Lake  County.  I 
effected  an  arrangement  with  him,  whereby  that  delega- 

1  This  had  been  done  before  he  or  I  knew  it  was  intended.  It  was  the 
work  of  Spalding's  friends. 


204  RECOLLECTIONS  OF   WAR    TIMES.      [May  1862- 

tion  should  be  counted  for  him — to  go  for  me  as  a  possible 
second  choice.  Seymour  and  other  Lake  friends  repudi 
ated  that  arrangement,  put  a  ticket  for  me  into  every 
township,  and  were  beaten  clean  in  the  county,  as  I  knew 
they  would  be.  I  had  a  majority  of  the  Cuyahoga  dele 
gates,  city  and  county,  Edgerton  had  half  a  dozen  from 
Summit,  and  Spalding  had  the  rest.  I  had  a  plurality  on 
the  first  ballot  in  the  convention,  held  my  own  in  the 
second,  when  ray  friends  (?)  made  haste  to  withdraw  me, 
and  Spalding  was  nominated. 

There  came  finally  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  of 
September  22d  to  salve  and  cheer.  How  utterly  insignifi 
cant  seemed  my  personal  fortunes,  disappearing  from  my 
own  mind  in  the  radiance  and  glow  of  this,  to  me,  the 
greatest  human  utterance.  The  word  was  irrevocably 
spoken  ;  it  was  like  the  speaking  a  new  world  into  being 
by  Omnipotence. 

We  have  seen  the  action  of  Congress  on  this  chronic 
national  "  grudge." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Fremont,  "  The  Path 
finder,"  on  the  3ist  of  August,  1861,  had  issued  a  proc 
lamation,  as  commander  of  the  department,  freeing  the 
slaves  in  Missouri.  The  President  revoked  this  proclama 
tion.  Later  General  Hunter  (an  always  sadly  under 
estimated  man),  in  command  of  the  Department  of  South 
Carolina,  Florida,  and  Georgia,  on  May  9,  1862,  had 
declared  those  States  under  martial  law,  and  the  slaves  in 
them  free.  The  retraction  of  Fremont's  proclamation 
had  produced  a  bitter  feeling  through  the  North,  but, 
notwithstanding,  Mr.  Lincoln  also  revoked  Hunter's 
order.  He  answered  the  delegations  of  northern  clergy 
men  who  prayed  him  to  declare  slavery  at  an  end  in  the 
rebel  States,  by  refusing  their  prayers.  He  answered  in 
the  same  way  Horace  Greeley's  strong  open  letter,  calling 
for  such  action.  Mr.  Lincoln  hoped  something  from  his 
scheme  of  "  abolishment,"  recommended  and  sanctioned 


Sept.  1862]  CONGRESSIONAL   ELECTION.  2O$ 

by  Congress,  and  therefore  delayed.  Then  came  a  series 
of  reverses  in  the  field,  the  greatest  of  which  was  Pope's 
repulse  in  front  of  Washington.  The  President  finally 
submitted  to  his  Cabinet  a  draft  of  his  proclamation, 
which  Seward  thought,  if  issued  at  that  time,  would  be 
regarded  as  a  despairing  appeal,  but  McClellan's  partial 
success  at  South  Mountain,  and  the  greater  success  at 
Antietam,  September  i/th,  seemed  to  part  the  clouds,  and 
the  proclamation  was  issued. 

In  this  year  of  1862,  the  Ohio  Democrats  were  early  in 
the  field  with  their  State  ticket.  They  put  forth  a  string 
of  resolutions  asserting  their  loyalty,  in  proof  of  which 
they  condemned  the  congressional  legislation  upon 
slavery,  and  all  the  war  measures  of  the  present  Congress. 
The  Republicans  had  what  they  called  a  union  conven 
tion  late  in  August,  and  also  put  a  ticket  in  the  field.  A 
Supreme  Court  judge  and  one  attorney-general  were  the 
only  state  officers  to  be  elected,  but  the  congressional  and 
legislative  elections  gave  importance  and  activity  to  the 
contest. 

I  was  induced  to  undertake  a  two-weeks'  canvass  in 
southeastern  Ohio.  At  an  immense  outdoor  gathering  at 
Salem,  where  I  was  the  only  speaker  assigned,  I  heard  of 
Bull  Run.  Among  the  sounds  that  greeted  me  upon 
being  named  on  the  stand  to  the  crowd,  were  the  bovine, 
heavy  bass  notes  of  the  animal  giving  the  name  to  that 
luckless  run,  after  the  manner  of  the  popular  Virginia 
nomenclature.  The  chairman,  at  my  request,  left  the 
leader  of  the  herd  to  me — with  a  speedy  result,  which 
made  me  the  complete  master  of  the  multitude,  and  put 
it  in  possession  of  a  more  accurate  idea  of  the  battle. 
The  press  made  such  kindly  mention  of  my  disposition  of 
the  incident  that  no  one  cared  to  refer  to  Bull  Run  in  my 
presence  again. 

This  result  of  the  Ohio  election  was  something  sur 
prising.  The  Democrats  elected  fourteen  of  the  twenty- 


206 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.  [May-Sept.  1862 


one  Representatives  in  Congress,  against  their  eight  in 
the  3/th  together  with  their  State  ticket  and  a  majority  in 
the  Legislature. 

The  elections  generally  left  the  Republicans  much 
weakened,  and  the  38th  Congress  might  possibly  find  the 
House  in  doubt. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE   THIRD    SESSION    OF    THE    THIRTY-SEV 
ENTH  CONGRESS. 

DECEMBER,    I862-MARCH,    1863. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  New  Scheme  for  the  "Abolishment  of  Slavery" — The 
Blockade  Enforced — Conscription — Power  Given  the  President  to 
Suspend  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus. 

OUR  third  and  last  session  commenced  December  I, 
1862.  What  a  bloody,  weltering  year  had  been  this  about 
to  close !  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  and  Port 
Hudson  had  been  succeeded  by  Donelson,  Shiloh,  and 
Corinth,  and  were  soon  to  be  followed  by  Vicksburg  and 
Gettysburg,  where  fortune  would  be  confirmed  to  the 
Union  standards,  and  the  President  would  proclaim  a 
national  Thanksgiving,  while  yet  it  was  summer.  If  we 
only  could  have  known  ! 

We  were  all  promptly  back  in  our  seats  and  committee 
rooms,  and  if  not  much  wiser,  we  were  even  more  deter 
mined  ;  what  we  should  do  in  Congress  must  be  accom 
plished  in  ninety-three  days. 

Mr.  Lincoln  met  us  in  his  annual  Message  with  a  new 
proposition  for  the  "  abolishment  "  of  slavery,  which  in  part 
his  proclamation  had  already  abolished,  and  he  now  pro 
posed  three  new  articles  to  the  Constitution.  Every 
slave  State  that  should  abolish  slavery  before  or  at  the 
end  of  the  century,  should  be  paid  for  the  property,  in 

207 


2O8  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [Dec.  1862- 

United  States  interest-bearing  bonds  ;  all  slaves  who  shall 
have  enjoyed  actual  freedom  by  the  war,  any  time  before 
the  end  of  the  rebellion,  to  remain  free ;  Congress  may 
make  appropriations  for  the  colonization  of  the  freedmen 
out  of  t/ie  United  States.  The  most  of  the  message  was 
devoted  to  a  discussion  of  this  scheme.  It  made  no  im 
pression  on  the  old  abolitionists,  for  we  had  made  up  our 
minds  to  a  speedier  and  cheaper  end  of  the  cause  of  war. 
It  was  the  President's  idea  that,  embodied  in  the  Consti 
tution,  these  articles  would  themselves  end  the  war,  or 
would  greatly  help  to  that  end.  To  us  that  was  vision 
ary.  We  wanted  to  see  the  end  of  both  the  war  and 
slavery,  and  we  thought  they  should  end  together.  While 
few  of  us  expected  to  see  January  I,  1900,  without  the 
help  of  the  early  abolitionists  the  President's  plan  could 
find  very  feeble  support. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  had  told  us  that  in  the  face 
of  the  declaration  of  Europe  we  could  not  make  a  real 
blockade  of  the  insurgent  ports ;  but  we  had  succeeded  in 
doing  it.  We  had  extemporized  four  powerful  fleets,  and 
had  so  effectively  walled  up  the  rebel  gateways  to  the  sea 
that  foreign  states  had  felt  obliged  to  respect  the  block 
ade.  We  gave  him  $71,000,000.  The  Secretary  of  War 
told  us  we  had  at  that  date  800,000  effective  soldiers 
in  the  field,  and  that  the  process  then  in  good  working 
order  would  soon  increase  the  number  to  a  round 
million. 

We  appropriated  for  his  expenses  in  the  field  a 
fraction  less  than  $677,000,000,  one  item  of  $45,000 
being  for  artificial  limbs !  Think  of  the  ghastly  sig 
nificance  of  such  an  item !  Mr.  Chase  gave  us  a 
clear,  strong  exposd  of  his  department  and  plans. 
He  had  organized  the  Internal  Revenue  Bureau.  We 
gave  him  a  comptroller  of  the  currency  and  all  the  money 
he  wanted  to  make.  However,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to 
turn  through  the  two  volumes  of  the  Globe  of  this  session, 


Mar.  1863]     THIRD   SESSION  OF  3JTH  CONGRESS.  209 

nor  to  make  many  clippings  for  the  annoyance  of  my  read 
ers.  A  rapid  survey,  with  a  pause  at  two  or  three  points, 
will  close  my  labors  with  the  3?th  Congress. 

To  some  of  us  it  seemed  as  illogical  to  depend  upon 
volunteering  for  soldiers  to  wage  the  war,  as  it  would  be 
to  depend  upon  voluntary  contributions  to  put  and  keep 
them  in  the  field,  yet  Congress,  though  sorely  pressed, 
was  reluctant  to  adopt  a  scheme  of  conscription.  It  was 
not  till  February  9,  1862,  that  Senator  Wilson  introduced 
a  bill  for  that  purpose,  which  was  reported  back  on  the 
i6th,  and  the  Senate  did  little  but  debate  it  for  two  days  ; 
of  course  it  was  there  opposed  by  the  seven  or  eight  op 
position  Senators. 

In  the  House,  Vallandigham  led  the  ineffective  opposi 
tion.  The  bill  passed  the  House,  February  25th,  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  for,  to  forty-nine  against  it,  a  few 
Republicans  voting  with  the  Democrats.  Conscription 
was  very  unpopular  throughout  the  North,  producing 
riots  on  attempts  to  enforce  it,  and  in  practice  it  proved 
delusive  and  ineffective.  In  the  next  Congress,  Garfield 
showed  that  there  were  in  practice  at  least  twelve  open 
ings  by  which  men  escaped  the  drafts.  It  required  soldiers 
with  nerve  to  devise  an  effective  law. 

We  passed  through  the  House  a  bill  to  raise  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  regiments  of  Africans,  for  five  years — should 
the  war  last — a  scheme  which  was  met  at  every  point  by 
our  enemies,  my  venerable  Kentucky  friend,  Wickliffe, 
being  in  sore  dismay,  and  early  reminding  me  of  my 
speech  of  the  year  before.  The  measure  passed,  in  spite 
of  a  day  and  a  night  or  two  of  filibustering,  February  3d, 
by  a  vote  of  eighty-three  to  fifty-four,  some  Republicans 
voting  with  the  Democrats.  When  it  reached  the  Senate, 
that  learned  body  declared  that,  under  our  present  law, 
persons  of  color  could  be  enlisted.  We  supposed  they 
could,  but  not  150,000  in  addition  to  those  already  au 
thorized. 


210  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.    [Dec.'62-Mar.'63 

Under  a  former  schedule,  we  had  in  the  service  thirty 
major-generals  and  seventy-five  brigadiers,  and  at  this 
time,  by  Act,  we  added  forty  to  the  first-class,  and  two 
hundred  to  the  second.  We  authorized  the  President  to 
dismiss  any  officer  at  discretion,  and  to  suspend  pay  under 
certain  contingencies,  and  we  reconstructed  the  whole 
code  of  army  regulations  and  ordinances. 

One  of  the  labors  of  the  session  was  the  Act  known  as 
the  "  Ways  and  Means,"  in  which  the  difficult  matter  of 
the  regulation  of  bonds  and  Treasury  notes,  the  complex 
system  of  securities,  credits,  and  loans,  voluntary  and 
forced,  was  revised  if  not  improved. 

It  may  be  remembered  that  early  in  the  called  session, 
a  bill  was  introduced  and  much  debated,  the  purpose  of 
which  was  to  indemnify  the  President  for  doing  such  acts 
as  under  existing  conditions  the  public  good  in  his  judg 
ment  required,  and  for  which  there  was  no  other  warrant. 
This  bill  was  the  subject  of  ardent  debate  through  that 
and  the  ensuing  long  session,  and  was  about  the  last  work 
accomplished  by  the  37th  Congress.  It  made  the 
President  practically  a  dictator,  although  he  was  then 
personally  a  subject  of  unworthy  criticism  among  Repub 
licans.  It  was  called  "  An  Act  Regulating  Habeas  Corpus 
and  Other  Things."  That  ancient  missive  of  freedom  was 
made  a  thing  of  the  President's  will.  His  order  when 
pleaded  was  constituted  a  legal  justification  in  all  the 
courts  of  the  United  States  for  the  acts  and  things  done 
pursuant  to  it.  The  measure  was  made  retroactive  and 
covered  everything  back  to  the  fall  of  Sumter,  and  its 
passage  in  the  House  cost  much  filibustering. 

This  session  also  created  the  Freedman's  Bureau  ;  the 
District  of  Columbia  Courts  were  reorganized,  and  many 
needed  laws  for  the  District  were  passed. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
THE    SHIP    CANALS. 

FEBRUARY,    1863. 
Scheme  to  Secure  Warships  on  the  Lakes — The  Defence  of  New  York. 

TOWARD  the  close  of  this  last  session,  the  New  York 
and  Illinois  gentlemen  of  the  House,  with  some  prompt 
ings  from  others  of  us,  introduced  a  scheme  for  a  ship 
canal  to  connect  the  Mississippi  with  Lake  Michigan,  and 
also  for  an  enlargement  of  the  New  York  and  Erie  Canal, 
so  as  to  admit  the  passage  of  effective  war  vessels  to  the 
lakes,  or  from  thence  to  the  defence  of  New  York,  if 
need  be.  We  had  become  accustomed  to  large  schemes 
and  to  the  use  of  huge  sums,  and  this  plan  took  hold  of 
the  imagination.  Pennsylvania  arrayed  herself  solid 
against  it,  as  did  Indiana,  and,  curiously  enough,  only  a 
fringe  of  us  along  Lake  Erie,  with  some  few  exceptions, 
favored  it.  The  Ohio  House  of  Representatives  even 
instructed  us  of  that  State  to  oppose  the  plan,  while  New 
York,  Massachusetts,  and  most  of  the  East  were  for  it. 

There  had  been  for  some  time  along  the  northern 
border  an  ill-feeling  against  Pennsylvania  for  her  course 
in  the  vexatious  and  very  petty  interruption  of  railroad 
transit  across  her  "  pan-handle,"  on  the  lake  border  at 
Erie.  She  persisted  in  maintaining  a  railroad  across  that 
neck  of  land  of  a  gauge  different  from  that  of  the  through 

211 


212  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Feb.  1863 

line,  thus  requiring  two  transshipments  of  everything  pass 
ing  by  the  lake  shore.  This  was  for  the  benefit  of  her 
local  venders  "  of  peanuts,  small  beer,  and  crackers,"  and 
the  controversy  was  known  as  the  "  Peanut  War." 

Some  taunts  of  this  had  been  thrown  at  the  Pennsyl 
vania  gentlemen  by  some  of  us,  and  they  had,  or  thought 
they  had,  cause  for  quarrel  with  Mr.  Riddle,  who,  as  they 
learned,  had  stimulated  Worcester  to  go  against  Butler  in 
his  noted  contest.  There  was  much  difficulty  in  getting 
the  bill  up  for  debate,  in  which  Stevens  led  the  opposi 
tion — Vallandigham  and  Cox  both  speaking  against  it, 
with  Olin,  aided  by  Washburne  and  Arnold,  to  manage 
the  bill.  Mr.  Riddle's  constituents  decidedly  favored  it, 
and  failing  to  secure  the  floor,  he  secured  leave  (a  bad 
practice)  to  print  his  remarks.  The  speech,  of  course, 
was  watched  for  by  the  Pennsylvanians.  It  covered  the 
points  sufficiently  for  the  reader  who  may  care  for  the 
subject,  and  its  length  does  not  preclude  its  being 
given. 

MR.  RIDDLE  said  : 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  know  the  impotence  of  words,  even  when  the  bearers 
of  great  arguments,  to  change  the  convictions  of  men  whose  conclusions 
grow  out  of  a  settled  purpose  and  are  imbedded  in  an  unhearing  prejudice. 
And  I  employ  them  now  only  to  vindicate,  to  my  own  judgment,  a  great 
measure  that  has  not  received  the  consideration  from  the  House  that  it  is  en 
titled  to.  I  am  amazed  that  it  receives  from  gentlemen  not  manly  opposi 
tion,  not  argument,  not  logic,  not  facts,  but  bold  denunciation,  measureless 
misrepresentation,  and  slobbering  balderdash.  Who  authorized  the  gentle 
man  from  Indiana  (Mr.  Holman),  to  speak  for  Ohio  who,  with  such  a  flourish, 
flaunted  a  soiled  rag  of  a  newspaper  in  our  faces,  as  if  to  remind  my  col 
leagues  and  myself  that  the  Legislature  of  our  State  had  spoken  ?  Sir,  Ohio 
will  select  her  own  organs,  and  we  will  answer  to  her  without  the  officious 
aid  of  any  meddler  from  outside.  I  knew,  sir,  that  the  members  of  the  Ohio 
Legislature,  for  want  of  something  else  to  do,  had  requested  my  colleagues 
and  myself  on  this  floor,  and  had  instructed  our  colleagues  in  the  Senate,  to 
oppose  this  measure.  It  is  not  the  first  time  that  respectable  gentlemen 
have  gravely  advised  and  instructed  others  about  matters  with  which  they 
had  as  much  to  do  as  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac  have  with  the  weaning  of 
children. 


Feb.  1863]  THE   SHIP   CANALS.  21$ 

"  I  ask  the  gentlemen  of  this  House  to  turn  their  eyes  for  a  moment  to  the 
northern  boundary  of  this  Republic.  There  they  find,  beginning  within  a 
few  degrees  of  longitude  of  the  ocean,  and  extending  irregularly  westward 
to  near  the  meridian  of  the  continent,  a  vast  series  of  waters,  almost  equal 
ling  the  width  of  the  Atlantic.  Let  the  eye  run  along  the  great  extent  of 
bays  and  capes  and  creeks  and  peninsulas  that  undulate  their  southern  shore, 
and  they  find  a  coast  line  that  nearly  equals  the  whole  Atlantic  coast  ;  and, 
while  the  eye  rests  for  a  moment  in  its  wearied  survey,  I  pray  these  gentle 
men  to  remember  that  this  immense  extent  of  coast  is  the  northern  frontier 
of  the  Republic.  Turn  the  eye  from  the  lake  to  the  Atlantic  coast,  and 
mark,  at  the  entrance  of  every  bay  and  creek  and  harbor,  and  by  every  road 
side,  the  formidable  fortresses  and  fortifications  that  frown  defiance  along 
its  whole  extent,  under  the  protection  of  which  the  hands  of  commerce  and 
enterprise  have  built  up  the  world's  great  marts.  Mark,  also,  and  wonder 
over  the  mighty  naval  armaments  that  oppress  the  Atlantic  bosom,  and  all, 
all  for  the  defence  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  mainly  against  one  great  rival. 
Turn  again  to  the  northern  margin  ;  every  league  of  the  opposite  coast 
that  answers  to  this  northern  line  is  the  soil  of  this  same  imperious  rival. 
The  whelps  of  its  old  lion  project  at  us  their  muzzles  from  every  promontory 
and  headland  of  that  opposite  coast  ;  while  throughout  the  whole  extent  of 
our  line  not  a  fort  nor  fortification  worthy  of  the  name  exists  ;  and  there  floats 
on  all  those  vast  seas  but  a  solitary  vessel  that  carries  a  single  gun  under  our 
flag.  Nay,  the  National  Government  is  under  an  enduring  treaty  stipulation 
never  to  construct  vessels  of  war  on  these  waters.  Contemplate  for  a  moment 
the  vast  spoils  that  there  await  the  clutching  hand  of  armed  violence.  Over 
those  same  waters  float  annually  more  than  six  hundred  million  dollars  of 
commerce,  all  at  the  mercy  of  a  single  armed  cruiser.  On  the  southern 
shores  of  those  lakes  are  clustered  a  group  of  great,  populous,  wealthy,  but 
unarmed  and  utterly  defenceless  communities.  My  own  State  has  a  greater 
population  and  wealth,  can  raise  a  greater  revenue,  and  has  sent  forth  a 
larger  army,  than  had  the  kingdom  of  Prussia  when  the  second  Frederick  of 
Brandenburg  ascended  its  throne.  Yet  her  whole  northern  frontier  is  an  open, 
unarmed  coast,  and  she  has  not  a  fortification  within  her  limits,  and  cannot 
arm  a  single  gunboat. 

"  Look  once  again  to  those  lakes,  and  mark  the  mighty  river  through 
which  their  vast  waters  flow  to  the  sea  ;  and  mark  how  entirely  it  is  in  the 
possession  of  our  great  rival,  whose  sea  armaments  equal  the  united  navies  of 
the  rest  of  the  world.  Observe  how  wholly  and  completely  the  sole  means 
of  naval  transit  around  the  cataract  of  the  Niagara  are  hers  alone,  and  that, 
save  this,  there  is  no  naval  access  to  these  waters.  See  !  how  utterly  and 
entirely  we  lie  at  the  will  and  pleasure  of  this  haughty  and  capricious  power  ; 
and  how  we  must  accept  any  humiliation  at  her  hands,  or  leave  to  her  bloody 
sickle  the  hoarded  fields  of  our  defenceless  North.  We  know  but  too  well 
what  her  present  temper  and  disposition  are.  She  may  keep  herself  within 
the  bare  letter  of  international  law  ;  but  a  man  whose  highest  rule  of  conduct 


214  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [Feb.  1863 

is  the  letter  of  the  law,  is  neither  a  good  citizen,  a  good  neighbor,  nor  an 
honest  man.  We  know  that  repeatedly  during  our  present  calamities  she 
has  violated  the  obligations  of  good  neighborhood,  and  the  amenities  and 
equities  that  must  regulate  the  intercourse  of  civilized  races,  and  has  per 
sistently  sought  to  force  an  open  rupture  with  us.  Sir,  now,  when  our  house 
is  on  fire,  instead  of  aiding  to  extinguish  the  flames,  she  could  not  be  content 
to  remain  an  idle  spectator,  but  she  has  fanned  with  her  breath  the  fierce 
conflagration,  and  has  done  for  the  incendiaries  what  they  could  not  do  for 
themselves.  When  the  emissaries  of  this  treason  could  no  more  find  means 
for  a  passage  to  Europe  than  they  could  fly  to  the  sun,  one  of  her  own  mail 
steamers  was  purposely  placed  at  their  disposal.  And  when  with  strong 
hand  we  took  them  thence,  she  made  the  act  of  carrying  them  her  national 
act,  and  demanded  them  at  the  peril  of  war.  She  demanded  them  at  the 
price  of  a  humiliation  that  she  then  thought  we  would  not  submit  to  ;  and 
the  brow  of  the  American  youth  will  redden  for  ten  generations  that  we 
accepted  the  humiliation. 

"  The  best  military  engineers  declare  that  this  scheme  for  a  canal  is  en 
tirely  practicable,  and  give  us  the  plans  and  estimates.  The  chairman  of 
the  Ways  and  Means,  in  his  poverty-stricken  speech  of  Saturday,  declares 
that  the  thing  itself  cannot  be  done.  And  when  the  authorities  are  quoted 
in  reply  to  him,  he  can  only  escape  like  that  other  venerable  lady  from  a 
similar  difficulty — '  I  and  Paul  differ.'  '  In  the  event  of  a  war  with  Eng 
land,'  says  that  gentleman,  '  we  will  seize  the  Welland  Canal,'  Certainly, 
by  all  means  ;  I  go  in  for  that.  Sir,  one  half  of  our  own  territory  is  now 
holden  from  us  by  an  armed  occupation  that  has  thus  far  defied  the  power  of 
the  nation  to  repossess  it.  The  broad  tidal  river  that  sweeps  by  this  Capital 
has  been  blockaded  for  a  year  at  a  time,  so  that  a  herring  could  hardly  navi 
gate  it.  I  think  I  see  the  Ways  and  Means  invading  the  British  Empire. 
Wre  have  had  some  useful  experience  in  this  war  of  invasion. 

"  But  we  are  told  that  we  can  extemporize  an  armed  fleet  on  these  lakes 
ample  in  time  and  force  for  any  emergency.  Do  gentlemen  forget  that  our 
enemies  possess  just  the  same  facilities  for  building  ;  as  much  means,  men, 
money,  and  power,  with  as  much  practical  skill  and  daring  ;  with  ample 
naval  transit  from  the  ocean  to  the  lakes  ?  Sir,  if  a  war  were  to  break  out 
to-morrow  with  England,  no  armed  vessels  of  ours  would  ever  float  upon  the 
lakes.  They  would  be  burned  on  the  stocks  by  the  enemy's  gunboats  from 
the  ocean.  Do  gentlemen  really  desire  a  repetition  of  the  fierce  old  battles 
for  the  empire  of  these  very  waters,  even  if  we  could  enter  upon  the  effort, 
as  we  cannot,  on  equal  terms  ?  Would  it  not  cost  us  more  than  this  canal  ? 
Is  the  hazard  nothing  ?  Suppose  we  were  to  fail  in  the  next  great  struggle  ? 
\Vhat  then  ?  My  people  demand  that  this  risk  shall  not  be  run  ;  it  can  be 
avoided.  There  are  three  gentlemen  now  on  this  floor,  Messrs.  Crittenden, 
\Vickliffe,  and  Grider,  all  of  gallant  Kentucky,  who  heard  the  roar  of  Perry's 
guns  in  that  old-time  sea  fight.  \Vhen  Shelby  and  Clay  and  Johnson  went 
plunging  through  the  wilderness  to  the  woody  shores  of  the  far-off  Erie  ; 


Feb.  1863]  THE    SHIP  CANALS.  21$ 

among  all  that  gallant  host  were  none  nobler,  in  the  opening  flush  and  rising 
glory  of  proud  young  manhood,  than  those  who  come  from  these  distant  bat 
tle-fields,  through  all  the  wrecking  vicissitudes  of  life  and  time  here,  to  vote 
on  this  great  measure,  I  hardly  dare  think  how.  I  would  remind  them  that 
the  far-off  frontier  is  as  defenceless  now  as  when  they  shielded  it  with  their 
breasts. 

"  I  know  that  the  Rhode  Island  youth,  who  had  with  Preble  and  Deca- 
tur,  chastised  the  Corsairs,  came  with  his  three  or  four  dozen  sailors,  and, 
aided  by  the  tanned  hunters  and  frontiersmen  of  that  hardy  region,  con 
structed  a  fleet  in  less  than  ninety  days,  with  which  they  went  in  quest  of  the 
foe.  How  eagerly  the  straggling  dwellers  in  the  wilderness  hastened  to  the 
shore,  if  haply  they  might  catch  a  sight  of  the  sails  that  wafted  their  country 
men  to  battle.  And  when  that  battle  joined  and  its  thunders  rolled  through 
the  dim  aisles  of  all  the  woods,  what  mortal  of  us  can  realize  the  terrible 
anxiety  that  questioned  of  the  result  ?  No  railroad  brought  it  ;  no  telegraph 
flashed  it.  Long  ago  that  fleet  was  dismantled,  and  the  larger  vessels  sunk. 
And  it  is  since  my  own  manhood  that  the  Lawrence  was  raised,  and  her  tim 
bers  and  spars  carved  into  canes  and  picture  frames  and  caskets  and  cabinets, 
and  given  and  received  as  the  most  treasured  mementos,  souvenirs,  and 
amulets.  And  the  hero  Perry  passed — oh!  long  ago,  to  the  memory  and  his 
tory  of  his  country  ;  and  from  the  granite  pedestal  in  the  beautiful  park  of 
one  of  the  loveliest  cities  of  the  globe,  his  form,  in  Parian  marble,  stands 
with  his  soul  breaking  from  the  lineaments  of  his  face  ;  with  his  hand  point 
ing  ever  to  the  near  sea,  as  a  reminder  that  as  that  was  the  scene  of  a  great 
achievement,  so  it  is  the  source  of  a  great  danger.  He  stands  there  an  ex 
clamation  point  in  marble,  against  the  unmanly  ribaldry  with  which  the 
opponents  of  this  measure  seek  to  overwhelm  it.  Had  Great  Britain  then 
possessed  the  Welland  Canal,  who  is  hardy  enough  to  declare  that  Perry 
could  have  won  the  mastery  of  the  lakes  ?  .  .  . 

"  My  able  colleague  from  the  Dayton  District  (Mr.  Vallandigham)  opposes 
this  measure,  because  he  says  that  it  is  a  direct  war  upon  the  interests  of  five 
or  six  States,  and  of  as  many  great  cities.  This  is  a  great  declaration, 
indeed.  It  is  kindred  to  the  opposition  of  the  two  gentlemen  from  Indiana 
(Messrs.  Holman  and  Voorhees),  who  with  their  tears  swell  the  crystal  waters 
of  the  Mississippi.  They  seem  to  regard  this  as  a  direct  war  upon  that 
river,  and  to  believe  that  if  it  succeeds,  that  rather  respectable  stream  will 
incontinently  '  dry  up.'  I  cannot  understand  how  this  measure  can  affect 
the  Mississippi.  It  makes  it  no  longer  ;  it  removes  no  town  from  its  banks  ; 
it  leaves  everybody  and  everything  that  chooses  to  meander  down  its  romantic 
and  aromatic  tide  as  ever,  with  no  hindrance  or  additional  burden.  In  what 
way  could  it  result  adversely  to  the  States  and  cities  of  my  colleague  (Mr. 
Vallandigham)  ?  Why,  a  ship  canal  connecting  the  Mississippi  and  Lake 
Michigan  would  open  up  a  finer  and  cheaper  outlet  so  much  nearer  and  more 
direct  that  the  overburdened  lands  of  the  West  and  Northwest  would  be 
diverted  from  the  older,  more  circuitous,  and  dearer  routes,  and  from  the 


2l6  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  IV A R    TIMES.        LFeb.  1863 

-worse  to  a  new  and  better  market.  And  the  people  of  the  States  and  cities 
referred  to  would  thereby  lose  their  profits  made  up  wholly  of  these  enormous 
charges  for  transportation  and  costs  of  marketing  by  these  old  and  expensive 
routes.  And  to  whom,  pray,  would  the  difference  between  the  old  and  new 
transportation  and  cost  of  marketing  fall  by  this  change  ?  To  the  producer, 
to  be  sure,  as  it  should.  It  increases  to  him,  by  just  so  much,  the  market 
value  of  every  article  he  raises.  It  comes  to  the  sweating  worker  of  the 
million  of  fertile  acres  in  the  far-off  West,  whose  products  rot  and  moulder 
away  on  his  hands  or  are  burnt  for  fuel,  offending  heaven  and  the  day  with 
the  smoke  of  blasphemous  waste.  It  comes  to  him  like  a  beneficence,  for  it 
brings  an  equivalent  to  the  hungry  remote  thousands  for  whom  God  intended 
it.  I  was  amazed  at  the  logic  of  the  gentleman  from  Ohio.  That  argument 
would  have  forever  prevented  the  construction  of  a  canal  or  railroad,  that 
pack-horses  and  wagons  might  receive  their  accustomed  patronage,  and  that 
wayside  inns  might  still  feed  hungry  men  and  horses.  The  wise  legislator 
would,  if  he  could,  annihilate  space  between  producer  and  consumer,  and 
abolish  the  carrier  who  lives  on  both,  producing  nothing  but  devouring 
charges. 

"  And  I  beg  my  mourning  Indiana  friends,  and  in  this  I  include  the 
gentleman  on  my  left  (Mr.  Porter)  also,  to  remember  that  when  we  had  this 
same  Mississippi  rolling  its  tide  of  fertilizing  mud  uninterruptedly  to  the  sea, 
with  the  present  means  of  transportation  eastward  all  in  working  order,  the 
poor  workers  still  starved  in  Europe,  and  the  poor  workers  still  burnt  corn  in 
Illinois.  All  the  nations  of  the  earth  rise  up  and  condemn  this  state  of 
things  ;  and  when  we  propose  to  improve  as  we  may  this  relation  of  the 
parties,  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  (Mr.  Voorhees)  exclaims  against  it  as  a 
sin  against  nature.  The  old  ways  opened  up  by  the  Almighty  are  preferred 
by  him,  and  these  Indianians  seem  to  think  that  their  noble  State  was  born 
of  the  Mississippi,  as  old  Egypt  was  of  Nilus  slime.  Sir,  had  the  Mississippi 
been  their  only  outlet,  Indiana  would  have  been  a  wilderness  to-day,  with 
not  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  inhabitants  in  her  borders. 

"  This  constellation  of  great  Western  States  was  born  of  the  East,  and, 
like  the  children  of  the  Magians,  their  faces  are  ever  toward  the  Orient. 

"  I  can  remember  when  there  was  not  a  harbor  improvement  from  Buffalo 
to  Milwaukee.  I  can  remember,  too,  the  sneers  and  jeers  at  this  scheme  of 
the  ponderous-headed,  deep-eyed  Clinton,  of  connecting  the  waters  of  Erie 
with  the  Atlantic.  And  yet  the  prophetic  voice  that  spoke  it  into  existence 
invoked  the  mighty  West  into  being.  The  dim  recesses  of  interminable 
forests,  the  great  empty  prairies — empty  since  the  dawn  of  time — heard  that 
voice,  and  came  forth  with  their  teeming  millions  to  realize  the  dreams  of 
old  imaginings. 

"  Sir,  in  my  judgment,  as  a  commercial  and  peace  measure,  there  now 
exist  the  same  reasons  for  the  works  proposed  by  this  bill  as  existed  for  the 
great  enterprise  of  Clinton.  The  same  forces  that  produced  that,  still  work 
with  a  tenfold  energy  ;  and  how  any  man  can  fail  to  see  this,  is  to  me  incom- 


Feb.  1863]  THE   SHIP  CANALS.  2 1/ 

prehensible  ;  and  how  any  man  of  the  West,  or  how  one  who  sympathizes 
with  it,  or  who  loves  to  see  his  nation  develop  and  swell  to  her  grand  and 
Just  proportions,  can  withhold  his  support  from  this  measure — as  I  fear  all 
my  colleagues  save  two  will — is  still  more  incomprehensible. 

"  It  was  to  be  expected  that  Pennsylvania,  although  she  rests  upon  the 
lakes,  would  oppose  the  plan  solid,  with  the  exception  of  a  friend  near  me 
(McKnight  from  Alleghany).  Nothing  traverses  her  soil  from  which  she  does 
not  exact  tribute.  And  her  citizens  for  a  whole  winter,  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  recently  forced  the  entire  travelling  North  to  patronize  her  peanut- 
venders  at  Erie,  the  place  where  Perry's  fleet  was  built.  The  nation  has 
cheerfully  shaped  its  policy  to  develop  her  resources.  Her  coal  and  iron 
are  exempt  even  from  taxation  ;  and  yet  her  Representatives  stand  here  the 
'goblins  of  the  mines,'  a  stupid,  inert  mass  of  selfish  obstinacy,  to  wall  up 
the  way  of  this  great  measure.  We  say  to  Pennsylvania  too,  we  bide  our 
time.1 

"  The  unregenerated  gentleman  from  Indiana  (Mr.  Voorhees)  desires  no 
artificial  channels  of  intercourse  and  interest  to  bind  together  the  remote 
parts  of  the  Republic  :  the  water-courses  of  nature  are  ample  for  him.  Can 
that  gentleman,  in  the  blindness  of  prejudice,  have  forgotten  that  it  is  com 
merce  born  of  thrift  and  gain,  that  has  opened  up  all  the  beautiful  ways  of 
intercourse  between  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  has  been  the  bearer  of  civiliza 
tion,  preceded  the  missionary  of  Christianity,  and  trafficked  in  the  arts  and 
sciences  themselves  ?  Under  her  genial  care,  the  gentle  and  sweet  amenities 
of  domestic  life — love,  marriage,  and  family  ties — have  made  alien  tribes  one 
people  in  blood  and  interest. 

The  bill  was  lost,  sixty  for,  and  seventy-two  against  it.* 

1  A  day  or  two  later,  Mr.  Moorhead,  an  ironmaker,  who  represented  the 
Erie  District,  got  leave  to  make  a  personal  explanation.     He  was  a  man  of 
wealth  and  consideration  and  a  friend  of  Secretary  Stanton's,  and  he  was  very 
angry.     He  had  a  pointed  paragraph  read  from  Riddle's  speech  ;  somebody 
had  prepared  for  him  a  condensed  libel  on  its  author  and  he  read  it  effec 
tively.     The  House  was  willing  to  hear  Mr.  Riddle's  rejoinder,  and,  a  very 
unusual  thing  then,  applauded  it.     Moorhead  asked  for  the  floor  again.     Mc 
Knight  arose  and  hoped  that  his  colleague  from  "  the  peanut  district  "  would 
be  heard.     Mr.   Riddle  asked  a  hearing  for  him,  as  did  Cox,  who  liked  the 
fun,  but  Stevens  interposed,  and  the  matter  ended.     Afterwards  some  of  the 
House  tendered  Riddle  a  dinner. 

2  There  was  really  no  feeling  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  Pennsylvania  gen 
tlemen.     Mr.  Riddle  was  invited  personally  by  Governor  Curtin  to  Erie,  to- 
address  a  huge  open-air  convention,   and  was  put   forward  to   make  the 
principal  speech  and  warmly  and  profusely  thanked  by  the  Governor  on  the 
stand. 

Later,  with  a  really  distinguished  member,  he  was  invited  by  the  Loyal 
League  to  Philadelphia,  and  there  addressed  an  immense  open-air  concourse. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 
CRITICISM  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

FEBRUARY,   1863. 
Extract  from  Mr.  Riddle's  Speech — Mr.  Lincoln's  Vindication. 

AMONG  our  later  writers  there  can  now  scarcely  be 
found  any  account  of  the  constant  and  growing  censori- 
ousness  towards  the  President  on  the  part  of  a  large  num 
ber  of  the  Republicans  of  both  Houses  of  Congress.  I 
borrow  a  page  from  the  biography  of  Senator  Wade,  to 
gether  with  an  extract  from  Mr.  Riddle's  speech,  on  the 
bill  to  indemnify  the  President,  showing  the  painful  and 
disrespectful  stage  which  this  criticism  had  reached  at  the 
end  of  the  37th  Congress  (26.  edition,  pp.  313-316). 

"  Very  early  there  came  to  be  a  difference  in  the  estimate  of  the  President, 
his  policy,  capacity  and  intentions,  between  the  distant  northern  public  and 
the  leading  men  of  the  two  Houses,  and  he  soon  became  the  theme  of  criti 
cism,  reflection,  reproach,  and  condemnation  on  the  part  of  these  gentlemen. 
The  New  York  Tribune  was  largely  the  organ  of  these  congressional  critics, 
and,  as  was  known,  Mr.  Greeley,  with  a  lantern,  was  diligently  searching  all 
the  summer,  autumn,  and  winter  of  1863  for  a  man  to  succeed  him.  To 
such  extent  did  this  condemnation  reach,  that,  at  the  end  of  the  Thirty- 
seventh  Congress,  there  were  in  the  House  but  two  men,  capable  of  being 
heard,  who  openly  and  everywhere  defended  him — Mr.  Arnold  of  Illinois, 
and  Mr.  Riddle  of  Ohio.  Corroborative  of  this,  I  quote  from  a  speech  of 
Mr.  Riddle's  on  the  '  Bill  to  Indemnify  the  President,'  delivered  in  the 
House  on  the  28th  of  February.  He  dealt  first,  very  directly,  with  the  re 
sounding  clamor,  denunciation,  and  vituperation  of  the  President  by  the 
Democrats,  and  continued  : 

218 


Feb.  18631     .     CRITICISM  OF   THE  PRESIDENT.  219 

"  '  But  what  can  be  said  of  a  party  in  whose  members  it  is  thought  to  be 
a  rare  distinction  that  they  are  merely  patriotic  ;  who  to  be  true  to  the  coun 
try  must  be  better  than  their  party,  and  who  are  loyal  in  spite  of  its  teach 
ings  and  of  their  political  associations  ?  I  am  glad  to  say  that  on  this  floor 
there  are  many  such  brave  and  noble  men,  while  the  mass  of  their  followers 
are  true,  as  the  people  ever  are.  How  easy  it  is  to  abuse,  traduce,  and  de 
nounce.  That  it  requires  neither  wit,  grace,  nor  truth,  is  illustrated  by  the 
assaults  of  those  gentlemen  on  the  President.  I  shall  enter  upon  no  lauda 
tion  of  the  President,  yet  there  are  some  words  that  I  deem  it  fitting  for  me 
now  to  say  in  reference  to  him. 

"  '  Sir,  the  Executive  is  the  arm  of  the  people  under  our  Constitution, 
and  with  it  only  can  we  deal  a  blow  upon  the  rebellion.  lie  who  would 
strike  that,  save  with  his  arm,  strikes  fully  upon  our  own  cause.  Whoever 
strengthens  this  arm,  strengthens  the  national  cause  ;  whoever  weakens  it, 
strengthens  the  enemy.  For  the  time  being,  the  other  branches  of  the  Gov 
ernment  might  well  be  in  abeyance,  that  all  our  energies  might  go  to  swell 
the  mighty  muscles  of  that  arm.  To  save  all,  all  must  be  risked.  You 
cannot  separate  the  Executive  from  the  personality  of  the  President  ;  and 
whatever  detracts  from  him  personally  weakens  the  Executive  force,  as 
whatever  elevates  him  gives  to  it  added  strength.  So  that  whatever  shakes 
the  confidence  of  the  people,  or  of  any  part  of  them,  in  the  capacity  or  in 
tegrity  of  the  President,  by  just  so  much  aids  the  rebellion,  as  that  which 
strengthens  confidence  in  him  gives  vigor  to  the  national  cause. 

"  '  The  President,  without  the  people,  and  all  of  them,  can  no  more  con 
duct  this  war  to  a  successful  issue  than  can  the  people  without  him.  Alone, 
no  matter  what  are  his  personal  qualities,  he  would  be  the  feeblest  driveller 
that  ever  perished  under  a  great  catastrophe,  and  the  people  must  perish 
with  him.  With  a  united  people,  he  is  irresistible,  in  spite  of  mistakes  and 
accidents.  A  united  people  with  their  President  can  control  fate  and  com 
pel  success  ;  they  must  stand  together,  and  woe  unutterable  to  the  wretches 
whose  words  or  deeds  shall  separate  them.  From  this  it  follows  that 
if  the  President  will  not  go  with  us  we  must  go  with  him.  The 
freedom  of  speech  is  the  last  franchise  a  free  people  will  surrender,  and 
our  millions  will  exercise  it  in  the  midst  of  no  matter  what  calamities.  They 
will  discuss  the  events  and  management  of  the  war.  It  is  their  war,  and 
the  humblest  of  them  has  an  interest  in  it  equal  to  that  of  the  first  citizen, 
and  they  must  and  may  discuss  his  acts  with  full  freedom.  But  I  submit 
whether  the  just  limit  of  criticism  and  of  manly  debate  has  not  been  brutally 
outraged  in  the  fierce  denunciations  of  the  President  by  gentlemen  on  this 
floor,  denunciations  which  have  been  caught  up  and  re-echoed  by  their 
partisan  press?  Sir,  if  these  perverse  revilers  could  gain  credit  \vith  the 
masses,  no  power  on  earth  could  save  us  from  destruction,  for  they  would 
shiver  the  only  arm  that  must  bring  us  safety.  I  speak  of  the  causeless  tide 
of  criticism — shall  I  call  it  ? — that  has  been  poured  out  upon  all  the  military 
operations  of  the  Administration.  Was  this  world  ever  before  enriched  with. 


220  RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR   TIMES.         [Feb.  1863 

such  a  quantity  of  valuable  commentary  on  the  art  of  war,  and  by  such  mas 
ters — generals  by  instinct  and  the  grace  of  God  ?  For  a  year  and  a  half 
has  this  voluminous  tide  swept  over  us  ;  and  will  some  mortal  tell  of  some 
good,  the  least,  that  has  waited  upon  the  labors  of  these  critics  ?  What 
mistake  has  been  avoided,  what  error  retrieved,  or  what  blunder  redeemed? 
And  yet  what  jealousies  they  have  engendered,  what  factions  they  have 
built  up,  and  what  feuds  they  have  embittered  ! 

"  '  These  outspoken  comments  of  the  other  side  here  and  elsewhere,  have 
at  least  the  merit  of  boldness  ;  but  what  shall  be  said  of  this  muttering,  un 
manly,  increasing  undercurrent  of  complaining  criticism  that  reflects  upon 
the  President,  upon  his  motives  and  capacity,  so  freely  and  so  feebly  in 
dulged  in  by  men  having  the  public  confidence  ?  of  these  whisperings  and 
complainings  and  doublings  and  misgivings  and  exclamations  and  predic 
tions  ?  I  have  heard  men  complain  that  George  Washington  had  died 
and  others  feebly  sigh  for  a  return  of  Andrew  Jackson  to  life  ;  what  can  be 
done  with  such  puling  drivellers, — men  who  have  a  morbid  passion  to  exag 
gerate  our  misfortunes,  and  to  multiply  and  riot  in  our  calamities,  and  who  are 
never  so  happy  as  when  they  can  gloat  over  the  sum  of  our  disasters,  which 
they  charge  to  the  personal  account  of  the  President  ?  I  am  sick  of  this 
everlasting  cowardice  and  pallor  under  reverses.  Defeats  must  come,  dis 
asters  must  come,  and  still  greater  ones  perhaps,  and  the  end  is  not  yet. 
These  men  would  never  have  worked  through  the  first  Revolution  ;  but 
that  task  was  achieved  in  spite  of  them,  as  this  will  be. 

"  '  Sir,  if  we  fail,  it  will  be  wholly  because  we  are  unworthy  to  succeed  ; 
because  we  will  not,  with  our  whole  heart  and  energy,  might,  mind,  and 
strength,  give  ourselves  up  entirely  to  this  war,  as  do  the  rebels  ;  study  its 
portents  and  obey  its  demands  alone.  The  task  it  imposes  is  for  our  human 
kind.  Its  work  is  the  accumulated  work  of  the  dead  centuries  thrust  upon  our 
hands,  and  its  hope  is  the  hope  of  generations  still  to  be  born.  If  we  doubt, 
assail,  and  cast  down  those  who  alone  must  lead  us,  we  might  as  well  now 
slough  into  any  infamy  that  men  will  call  peace,  or  skulk  behind  the  medi 
ating  sceptre  of  no  matter  what  despot,  and  hide  forever  our  dishonored 
heads  amid  the  ruins  of  our  nationality.  If  any  man  here  distrusts  the 
President,  let  him  speak  forth  here,  as  these  bad  leaders  do,  openly,  and  no 
longer  offend  the  streets  and  nauseate  places  of  common  resort  with  their 
unworthy  clamor.  The  President  may  not  have  in  excess  that  ecstatic  fire 
which  makes  poets  and  prophets  and  madmen  ;  he  may  not  possess  much  of 
what  we  call  heroic  blood,  that  drives  men  to  stake  priceless  destinies  on 
desperate  ventures,  and  lose  them  ;  he  may  not  in  an  eminent  degree  possess 
that  indefinable  something  that  schoolboys  call  genius,  which  enables  its  pos 
sessor,  through  new  and  unheard  of  combinations,  to  grasp  at  wonderful  re 
sults,  and  which  usually  ends  in  ruin  ;  or,  if  he  possesses  any  or  all  of  these 
qualities,  they  are  abashed  and  subdued  in  the  presence  of  a  danger  that 
dwarfs  giants,  and  teaches  prudence  to  temerity.  He  is  an  unimpassioned, 
cool,  shrewd,  sagacious,  far-seeing  man,  with  a  capacity  to  form  his  own 


Feb.  18631         CRITICISM  OF  THE  PRESIDENT.  221 

judgments,  and  a  will  to  execute  them  ;  and  he  possesses  an  integrity  pure 
and  simple  as  the  white  rays  of  light  that  play  about  the  Throne.  It  is 
these  that  have  so  tied  the  hearts  and  love  of  the  people  to  him,  and  that 
will  not  unloose  in  the  breath  of  all  the  demagogues  in  the  land.  It  is  idle 
to  compare  him  with  Washington  or  Jackson.  Like  all  extraordinary  men, 
he  is  an  original,  and  must  stand  in  his  own  niche.  He  has  assiduously 
studied  the  teachings  of  this  war,  has  learned  its  great  lesson,  and  in  full 
time  has  uttered  its  great  word.  He  commits  errors  ;  who  would  have  com 
mitted  fewer?  Think  of  the  fierce  and  hungry  demands  that  incessantly 
devour  him.  Remember  the  repeated  instances  in  our  own  times  when  the 
ablest  of  our  statesmen  in  that  chair,  with  Cabinets  of  their  choice,  and 
sustained  by  majorities  in  Congress,  in  times  of  profound  peace,  have  gone 
down,  and  their  administrations  have  perished  under  the  bare  weight  of  the 
government. 

"  '  And  then  contemplate,  if  you  can,  in  addition  to  the  burdens  that  have 
crushed  so  many  strong  men,  the  fearful  responsibilities  imposed  upon  this 
man.  Is  it  not  a  marvel,  a  most  living  wonder,  that  he  sustains  them  so 
well?  .  .  . 

"  '  But  these  gentlemen  now  denounce  the  President's  policy  of  the  war. 
Sir,  I  remember  that  others,  too,  used  to  complain  in  the  same  way ;  we 
have  all  added  our  mite,  and  just  as  if  the  President  were  responsible  for  it, 
and  could  furnish  a  policy  for  the  war.  The  war  is  greater  than  the  Presi 
dent  ;  greater  than  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  ;  greater  than  the  people, 
with  the  reconstructed  Democracy  throivn  in  ;  greater  than  all  together,  and 
it  controls  them  all,  and  dictates  its  own  policy  ;  and  woe  to  the  man  or 
party  that  will  not  heed  its  dictation  ! ' ' 

1  The  37th  Congress  ceased  at  noon,  March  4,  1863,  and  with  it  closed 
my  brief  Congressional  career,  never  to  be  resumed.  Twice  later,  when 
the  opportunity  was  proffered,  I  put  it  by. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 
METHODS  OF  THE  HOUSE. 

1861-62. 

Difficulties  of  a  New  Member — Congressmen  Bitten  of  Life  at  the  Capital 
— Joshua  R.  Giddings — Personal  Experiences. 

PERHAPS  the  first  striking  impression  received  by  one 
new  to  the  House  is  the  wonder  as  to  how  half  the  men 
ever  got  there.  One  is  next  impressed  by  the  audacity, 
or  serene  stupidity,  which  enables  so  many  men  to  be 
willing  to  occupy  these  seats.  Is  there  in  the  world  so 
melancholy  a  book  as  The  Political  Register  and  Congres 
sional  Directory  of  the  United  States  of  1776-1878,  by 
Ben  :  Perley  Poore  ? 

In  it  are  recorded  the  names,  with  a  brief  mention  of 
their  lives,  of  every  man  who  sat  in  our  Congress  during 
one  hundred  and  two  years, — years  covering  nearly  our 
whole  national  life.  Whoever  has  patience  to  look  the 
book  through,  will  find  it  a  sadder  burying-ground  than 
that  on  the  Anacostia ;  of  the  5500  men  who  have  held 
seats  in  the  American  Congress,  not  more  than  fifty  can 
be  described  as  really  distinguished. 

The  conditions  of  the  service  are  now  very  repressing. 
Everything  is  in  the  hands  of  the  party  leaders.  The 
Speaker  of  the  House  is  their  property.  He  awards  the 
places  on  the  committees,  and  everything  now  depends 
on  the  committees.  If  a  man  has  no  place  on  an  impor- 

222 


1861-62]  METHODS   OF    THE  HOUSE.  22$ 

tant  committee,  he  can  secure  no  place  on  the  floor, 
unless  his  constituency  stand  by  him  for  a  series  of  years, 
a  thing  which  seldom  occurs  at  the  North.  In  the  growth 
of  the  public  business,  there  is  a  growing  necessity  to 
depend  more  and  more  upon  the  standing  committees. 
They  work  into  each  other's  hands,  and  the  young 
stranger  on  the  floor  can  neither  find  nor  make  his  oppor 
tunity.  He  may  have  real  ability,  may  have  studied,  may 
have  aspirations,  enthusiasms,  high  and  pure  ideals.  He 
reaches  a  seat  in  the  huge,  crowded,  noisy,  seemingly  un 
organized  House,  to  find  himself  smothered,  lost,  unrecog 
nized  by  the  Speaker,  and  unknown  to  the  House. 

The  House  is  unquestionably  the  worst  place  in  America 
for  a  man  to  speak  in.  The  desirable  opportunity  never 
comes  to  the  stranger.  If  he  pushes  himself  into  general 
speech-making  "  On  the  State  of  the  Union,"  the  mem 
bers  gather  about  him,  take  his  measure,  then  saunter  out, 
collect  in  groups  standing  between  him  and  the  Speaker, 
telling  stories  or  loafing,  and  he  who  "  has  the  floor  "  is 
obliged  to  raise  his  voice  till  the  physical  effort  to  pitch 
his  words  over  their  heads,  to  be  caught  at  the  reporters' 
desk,  is  so  great  as  to  preclude  all  free  mental  action. 
Many  men  of  real  oratorical  ability  never  try  the  floor  of 
the  House  but  once  or  twice,  and  many  with  fine  reputa 
tions  at  home  are,  much  to  the  surprise  of  their  friends, 
never  heard  of  after  reaching  the  Capital.  If  one  is  fortu 
nate  enough  to  throw  light  on  subjects  the  House  must 
act  upon,  helping  it,  however  slightly,  to  right  conclusions, 
he  is  appreciated,  and  then,  if  modest,  is  listened  to. 

The  best  debating  in  the  American  House  is  in  Com 
mittee  of  the  Whole,  under  the  five  minutes'  rule.  There 
a  man  has  something  to  say,  packs  it  into  the  smallest 
space,  and  often  renders  real  service.1 

1  I  had  been  accustomed  to  platform  speaking  since  I  was  seventeen,  and 
had  no  special  anxiety  about  seeking  the  floor  in  the  House.  Such  remarks 
of  mine  as  are  found  in  this  volume  are  given  as  expressing  my  conclusions 


224  RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR  TIMES.  LI 861- 

I  have  always  been  unable  to  understand  the  attach 
ment  that  men  form  for  Congressional  life.  I  can  see  how 
those  fond  of  social  life  may  appreciate  the  spirit  that 
rules  the  Washington  world  ;  but  how  a  man  who  avoids 
society,  and  whose  wife  and  children  are  in  a  distant 
home,  can  become  attached  to  Congressional  life  at  the 
Capital,  is  amazing.  Many  men,  honored  Representatives 
on  the  floor,  are  often  so  bitten  of  it,  that  they  come  back 
and  make  lively  campaigns  to  secure  the  position  of  Clerk, 
Sergeant-at-Arms,  Postmaster,  or  Doorkeeper  of  the 
House  where  once  they  were  masters. 

Three  of  the  most  distinguished  Members  of  the  House 
from  Ohio,  may  be  cited  as  victims  of  this  much  sitting  in 
the  House.  Elisha  Whittlesey,  after  sitting  from  1821 
to  1838,  thinking  he  had  been  there  as  long  as  he  cared 
to  be,  resigned.  Finding  himself  mistaken,  he  accepted 
the  sixth  auditorship  of  the  Treasury,  was  finally  pro 
moted  to  be  Comptroller,  and  died  in  1863. 

There  was  also  Samuel  F.  Vinton  who  entered  the 
1 8th  Congress  with  Whittlesey,  and  who,  when  his  term 
of  service  expired,  removed  to  the  Capital.  He  was  one 
of  the  commissioners  to  appraise  the  slaves  under  our 
Emancipation  Act,  and  died  at  Washington  in  1862. 
Joshua  R.  Giddings  succeeded  Whittlesey  in  the  House, 
and  served  continuously  to  the  end  of  the  35th  Con 
gress.  He  lived  the  life  of  a  recluse,  though  constantly 
at  war,  and  really  became  so  attached  to  the  Capital, 
that  he  was  restless  and  unhappy  elsewhere. 

The  36th  Congress  established  consular  relations  with 
Canada,  with  a  consul-generalship  at  Quebec.  Mr. 


on  the  subjects  discussed.  My  first  remarks  in  the  House  were  given  under 
the  short  rule,  on  the  River  and  Harbor  Bill.  Soon  after,  a  reporter  brought 
me  the  speech  in  manuscript.  My  colleague,  Dr.  Trimble,  explained  by 
saying  that  the  reporters  recognized  me  as  one  to  be  favored.  Their  reports 
were  afterwards  always  given  to  me,  nor  did  I  ever  have  cause  to  complain 
of  the  inattention  of  the  House. 


1862]  METHODS   OF    THE  HOUSE.  22$ 

Giddings  wished  for  the  appointment,  and  was  entitled  to 
anything  in  the  President's  gift.  He  had  been  a  delegate 
to  the  Chicago  Convention,  and  upon  its  refusing  to  ac 
cept  his  plank  in  the  platform,  he  withdrew.  Feeling 
himself  in  disfavor,  he  would  not  approach  the  President 
nor  Mr.  Seward.  I  could,  and  I  asked  Mr.  Seward  to  ap 
point  Mr.  Giddings  Consul-General  to  Quebec.  Mr. 
Seward  said  he  had  earned  a  much  more  conspicuous 
place,  and  asked  if  he  would  accept  that.  I  replied  that  I 
was  authorized  to  speak  for  him,  and  that  he  would.  "  He 
shall  have  it.  He  will  do  as  little  mischief  there  as  any- 
where"  was  his  reply.  Mr.  Giddings  was  greatly  pleased. 
He  wished  to  know  what  the  Secretary  said,  and  laughed 
heartily  when  told.  He  died  at  Quebec,  May  27,  1884,  a 
man  whose  services  in  the  war  against  slavery  were  second 
to  none  in  our  history.  He  did  some  most  essential  work, 
performed  by  no  other  hand,  in  finding  the  true  ground 
where,  under  the  Constitution,  a  party  could  stand  and 
legally  oppose  slavery.1 

I  had  at  least  escaped  the  personal  injury  of  long  ser 
vice  in  the  House.  No  man  has  ever  served  through 
three  congresses  and  returned  healthfully  to  take  up  his 
old  life  and  pursuits.  No  matter  how  innocent  and  regu 
lar  may  be  a  man's  life  and  habits  in  Washington,  his 
mind  does  not  escape  the  kind  of  dissipation  that  in  a 
way  unfits  it  for  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life.  If  his 
career  has  been  passably  successful,  he  has  a  scrap-book 
filled  with  newspaper  laudations  and  criticisms,  twenty  or 
forty  volumes  of  the  Globe,  innumerable  public  docu 
ments,  and  a  general  disgust  and  unfitness  for  ordinary 
useful  avocation.  His  profession  is  gone,  his  wife  is 
dwarfed  by  years  of  neglect,  his  children  are  strangers, 
and  he  comes  to  loathe  the  "  Honorable  "  that  men  prefix 

1  Mr.  Julian,  in  his,  in  many  respects,  valuable  biography  of  Mr.  Giddings 
(his  father-in-law),  is  pleased  to  say  that    "  the  President  tendered  him  the 
post." 
15 


226  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.  [1861- 

to  his  name, — the  only  emolument  he  has  acquired,  save 
personal  and  political  animosities  and  alienated  friends. 

This  second  year  of  the  war  had  fully  awakened  the 
inventive  genius  of  the  American  people,  and  the  Capital 
had  a  succession  of  eager  visitors  with  models  of  plate 
armor  and  improvements  in  fire-arms,  especially  in  pro 
jectiles  for  artillery.  The  War  Office  had  several  targets 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Anacostia,  and  reserved  two  or 
three  old  worn  guns  for  these  amateur  gunners,  who  kept 
up  quite  a  constant  cannonade.  I  remember  a  constituent 
who  came  on  with  a  small  cargo  of  shot  and  shell,  which 
he  would  permit  no  other  hand  to  touch,  and  which  the 
yellow  Potomac  still  keeps  in  its  guardian  depths. 

One  willing  to  be  useful  to  his  constituents  soon  finds 
that  his  duties  in  the  House  are  the  lightest  and  pleasant- 
est  of  his  services.  He  is  expected  not  only  to  be  a 
solicitor  of  places,  but  of  patents  and  pensions.  I  was 
long  haunted  by  a  man  who  thought  himself  a  born  de 
tective,  and  who  said  he  had  a  clue  to  one  of  the  awfulest 
conspiracies  to  plunder  poor  distressed  Uncle  Samuel,  sec 
ond  only  to  the  conspiracy  to  rend  the  Union.  I  went 
so  far  as  to  offer  to  introduce  him  to  the  Solicitor  of  the 
Treasury.  "  The  Solicitor  is  a  fool."  Had  he  been  to  Colo 
nel  Baker?  "Baker  threatened  to  send  him  to  the  old 
Capitol."  Had  he  seen  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ? 
"  Chase  was  prejudiced."  When  I  found  how  persistently 
he  had  waylaid  and  pursued  that  gentleman,  I  could 
understand  that  the  Secretary  probably  was.  I  finally 
told  him  with  the  utmost  plainness  that  I  had  become 
prejudiced  also,  and  stubbornly  refused  to  have  my 
prejudices  removed. 

The  service  in  the  House  became  irksome  to  me.  The 
building,  its  passage-ways  and  odors,  grew  offensive. 
Occasionally  now,  when  there,  the  old  dismaying  flavor 
assails  me,  bringing  momentary  heart  failure.  Of  the 
gentlemen  on  the  floor,  Dr.  Trimble,  Colfax,  Morrill, 


1862]  METHODS   OF   THE  HOUSE.  22  / 

Fenton,  Campbell,  Conkling,  and  McKnight  were  my  as 
sured  friends,  as  were  Cox,  Pendleton,  and  Vallandigham. 
Indeed,  I  have  always  found  disinterested  friends  among 
the  Democrats,  and  have  observed  among  politicians  that 
the  warmest  personal  ties  are  usually  across  party  lines. 
I  always  treated  my  constituency  with  frank  confidence, 
and  believe  I  received  it  in  return.  I  never  had  anything 
to  explain  except  my  account  of  Bull  Run,  and  I  found 
in  the  Ohio  House,  as  in  the  National  House,  that  an 
independent  course  was  always  applauded.  I  was  never 
questioned  at  home  for  retaining  young  Cox.  The  ap 
pointment  of  Henry  Slade,  a  Democrat,  was  as  well  liked 
as  the  appointment  of  his  brother  William  to  a  consulate. 
My  course  in  the  Lehman  case  was  warmly  approved.  I 
never  consulted  the  political  weather-vane  in  my  district. 
If  I  thought  the  people  were  in  error  there,  I  unhesi 
tatingly  told  them  so.  No  vote  or  speech  of  mine  was 
ever  censured,  to  my  knowledge.  At  the  time  I  decided 
never  again  to  turn  my  attention  to  public  life,  I  knew 
very  well  that  with  a  little  time,  and  perhaps  less  pride, 
nothing  was  easier  or  more  certain  in  political  fortune 
than  my  return  to  the  House  if  I  desired  it.1 

1  Within  three  years  my  successor  more  than  once  offered  to  vacate  the 
seat  if  I  would  return  and  stand  for  it. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 
EPISODES  DURING  ADJOURNMENT. 

MARCH-AUGUST,    1863. 

Riots  and  Victories — Vallandigham  Arrested — Nominated  for  Governor  of 
Ohio — John  Brough — On  the  Stump — Chandler,  Anderson. 

VALLANDIGHAM,  a  man  of  ardent  temperament,  bold, 
daring,  and  ready  "to  illustrate  his  utterances  by  acts, 
had  permitted  his  theories  to  carry  him  unconsciously 
past  the  limits,  his  cooler  reason  would  have  recognized 
eighteen  months  before,  but  who  now  stood  on  ground 
logically  based  on  the  conclusions  of  leisure,  reached 
home  at  the  close  of  the  37th  Congress  to  be  confronted 
by  the  general  order  of  Major-General  Burnside,  com 
manding  the  Department  of  the  Ohio,  with  headquarters 
at  Cincinnati.  This  order  defined  as  traitorous  certain 
acts — among  them  the  habit  of  expressing  sympathy  with 
the  enemy,  denouncing  the  government,  etc.,  and  declared 
that  such  acts  were  to  be  tried  and  dealt  with  by  courts  of 
military  commission.  At  a  Democratic  meeting,  held  May 
1st,  at  Mount  Vernon,  some  forty  miles  north  of  Colum 
bus,  Vallandigham  made  this  order  the  text  of  a  fierce  and 
bitter  philippic.  Hundreds  of  men  at  this  meeting  wore 
the  Copperhead  and  Butternut  badges.  On  Monday 
evening,  May  4th,  a  special  train  from  Cincinnati,  with 
officers  armed  with  an  order  for  his  arrest,  proceeded  to 
Dayton,  the  city  of  his  residence,  arrested  him  in  his  own 

228 


Mar.-Aug.1863]    EPISODE S  D URING  A DJO URNMEN T.        2 29 

house,  and  carried  him  to  headquarters,  where  he  was 
lodged  in  the  military  prison.  Intense  excitement  was 
produced  among  his  friends  at  Dayton  by  his  arrest,  and 
on  the  evening  of  the  5th,  a  mob  of  five  or  six  hundred 
set  fire  to  the  office  of  the  Journal  (the  Republican 
paper),  which  was  burnt,  with  many  other  buildings  on 
the  same  square. 

From  his  prison  Vallandigham  issued  a  carefully  con 
sidered  proclamation  to  the  Democracy  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  charged  with  the  utterance  of  disloyal 
sentiments,  sympathy  with  the  enemy  in  arms,  and  de 
nunciation  of  the  government  for  the  purpose  of  weaken 
ing  it  and  rendering  its  efforts  to  put  down  the  rebellion 
less  effective.  He  was  put  on  trial  on  the  6th,  before  a 
commission  of  military  officers,  and  the  proof  amply  sus 
tained  the  specification.  He  was  aided  by  George  E. 
Pugh,  but  made  no  defense,  contenting  himself  with  a 
protest.  He  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  be  con 
fined  in  Fort  Warren,  in  Boston  harbor,  during  the  war. 
The  United  States  Circuit  Court  refused  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  in  the  case.  The  President  changed  the  sentence 
to  banishment  beyond  the  rebel  lines.  The  order  was 
executed  about  daylight,  the  25th  of  May,  near  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tennessee,  where,  on  conference  under  a  flag,  Val 
landigham  was  delivered  over,  saying  to  the  private  of  an 
Alabama  regiment,  who  received  him,  that  he  surrendered 
himself  a  prisoner  of  war. 

The  Administration  press  was  not  unanimous  in  the 
approval  of  the  course  pursued  with  Vallandingham.  It 
seemed  to  me  unnecessary  and  unwarranted.  He  had  no 
hold  on  the  thoughtful  men  of  the  Democratic  party. 
The  year  before,  the  Democrats,  with  a  clear  majority  in 
the  Ohio  Legislature,  had  re-elected  Benjamin  F.  Wade 
to  the  Senate,  an  unique  event  in  the  history  of  American 
politics,  and  that  too  when  Vallandigham  had,  in  violation 
of  all  parliamentary  rules,  denounced  him  on  the  floor  of 


230  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.     [Mar.  1863- 

the  House  as  a  liar  and  a  coward.  This  was  due  to  some 
forcible  remarks  made  by  Wade  in  a  speech  at  the  North, 
charging  Vallandigham  with  treasonable  utterances.  Ohio 
and  the  Ohio  Democracy  were  generally  loyal  to  the 
Union.  There  was,  however,  a  percentage  of  the 
younger  men  who  would  not  volunteer,  and  who,  fearing 
the  conscription,  put  on  the  Butternut  and  Copperhead 
badges,  and  whooped,  and  yelled,  and  followed  the  dema 
gogue  whose  ardent  nature  carried  him  out  of  the  ranks 
of  the  loyal.  Pugh  (who  had  been  succeeded  in  the 
Senate  by  John  Sherman),  and  Cox,  and  Pendleton,  who 
made  a  great  noise  in  denunciation  of  the  course  pursued 
by  the  Executive,  were  careful  to  keep  within  the  pru 
dent  lines  of  safety.  There  was  an  effort  to  canonize 
Vallandigham  as  a  popular  martyr,  notwithstanding  the 
hard  lines  of  his  nature  and  character,  repellent  of  sym 
pathy  and  tenderness ;  and  a  few  did  so  regard  him. 

At  the  State  Democratic  Convention  of  June  nth,  he 
was  nominated  for  Governor  by  acclamation,  with  Pugh 
for  Lieutenant-Governor. 

The  Republican  Convention,  on  the  i/th  of  June,  nomi 
nated  John  Brough  for  Governor,  and  for  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Charles  Anderson — a  brother  of  the  hero  of 
Sumter. 

The  utmost  concern  was  felt  through  the  North  for  the 
result,  largely  shared  by  the  timid  in  the  State,  on  account 
of  the  absence  of  the  heroes  drawn  off  to  the  war.  I  had 
made  myself  familiar  with  the  popular  signs  from  very 
early  manhood,  and  I  felt  there  could  be  no  grounds  for  ap 
prehension.  I  wrote  to  the  Tribune  that  Mr.  Brough  would 
be  elected  by  thirty  thousand  on  the  home  vote,  which 
only  provoked  a  sarcastic  paragraph  from  Mr.  Greeley. 
He  would  compromise  on  a  third  of  that  number. 

My  success  in  1848  made  me  confident.  Brough  was 
the  survivor  of  the  Sam.  Medary-McNulty-Byington  De 
mocracy,  the  only  one  fit  to  survive.  As  State  Auditor 


Aug.  18631     EPISODES  DURING  ADJOURNMENT.  23 1 

he  had  devised  the  scheme  of  State  taxation,  which, 
though  rejected  by  his  party,  Alfred  Kelley,  Seabury 
Ford,  and  other  Whigs,  had  the  grace  and  courage  to 
adopt  in  1845.  Brough  was  not  only  one  of  the  strongest 
men  of  the  State,  but  was  one  of  the  best  speakers  in  it, 
with  the  finest  voice  I  ever  heard  for  open-air  speaking. 
He  made  a  very  powerful  speech  at  Marietta,  before  his 
nomination,  fully  sustaining  the  Administration  on  all  the 
points  involved.  To  me  he  seemed  the  heaven-sent  man. 
Correspondence  with  Cincinnati  showed  that  the  idea  was 
common  to  a  few  of  us.  Governor  Tod  had  been  true 
and  able,  but  had  provoked  criticism.  It  was  no  time  to 
vindicate  even  good  men.  Consultation  with  R.  F. 
Paine,  Colonel  Parsons,  Cowles,  Samuel  Williamson,  Dr. 
Everett,  and  others,  settled  Cleveland,  and  with  the  aid 
of  Cincinnati,  his  nomination  was  effected. 

The  attempted  conscription,  July  Qth,  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  precipitated  (largely  among  the  foreign-born) 
the  bloodiest  and  longest  continued  riot  that  has  thus  far 
occurred  in  the  history  of  the  United  States.  The  "  popu 
lace  "  in  a  rage  fell  back  at  once  to  the  lowest  brutal  ele 
ments  and  instincts  of  the  undeveloped.  All  the  criminal 
and  base  came  forth,  and  for  four  or  five  days  portions  of 
the  city  were  given  over  to  blood,  arson,  and  plunder. 
The  rage  was  especially  directed  against  persons  of  African 
descent.  The  police,  though  well  handled,  were  unequal 
to  the  occasion,  and  it  was  two  days  before  an  effective 
force  of  the  military  and  marines  could  be  secured.  These 
troops,  directed  by  able  officers,  such  as  Canby  and  others, 
quelled  the  outbreak  by  well-directed  discharges  of  fire 
arms.  It  was  estimated  that  at  least  a  thousand  of  the 
mob  were  killed  and  wounded  in  the  absolutely  necessary 
assaults.  Horatio  Seymour  was  at  the  time  Governor  of 
the  State.  He  had  coquetted  with  the  Vallandigham 
trouble  in  Ohio,  to  the  literature  of  which  he  contributed 
a  much-lauded  letter. 


232  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [Mar.  1863- 

On  the  night  of  the  i$th  of  July  a  riot  broke  out  in 
Boston,  which  for  a  time  caused  serious  apprehension,  and 
was  occasioned  by  opposition  to  the  drafting  under  the 
Act  of  Congress. 

Ohio  also  had  a  conscription  riot,  an  outbreak  of  the 
fierce  Democracy  of  Holmes  County,  which  grew  to  such 
proportions  that  six  hundred  of  the  State  soldiery — in 
fantry,  artillery,  and  cavalry — were  called  out  for  its  sup 
pression.  There  were  draft  disturbances  elsewhere  ;  nor 
were  they  found  alone  in  the  Northern  States.  The  South 
suffered  the  same  experiences  under  the  Confederacy. 

That  memorable  summer  was  emphasized  in  Ohio  by 
John  Morgan's  raid.  The  original  project  was  the  in 
vasion  of  Kentucky  and  the  capture  of  Louisville,  and 
perhaps  Cincinnati.  Buckner  was  to  command  the  army. 
Morgan,  with  a  column  of  four  thousand,  was  to  make  a 
hurried  advance  and  cut  and  destroy  all  railroads  and  roll 
ing  stock.  The  advance  of  Rosecrans  detained  Buckner. 
Morgan  met  and  overcame  a  small  detached  Union  force 
in  Kentucky,  and  crossed  the  Ohio  into  Indiana  four  miles 
below  Louisville.  The  inevitable  General  Hobson,  de 
tailed  to  pursue  and  capture  him,  was  delayed,  and  fol 
lowed  some  days  later.  Morgan  made  wild  work  in 
Indiana.  Meantime  forces  were  gathering  in  southwestern 
Ohio.  Hobson  reached  the  Ohio  as  the  last  of  Morgan's 
men  crossed,  and  had  to  secure  means  of  transit.  He  had 
pursued  Morgan  over  seven  hundred  miles.  The  Indiana 
force  paused  at  the  State  line.  Of  course  Morgan's  force 
was  constantly  diminishing.  Hobson  finally  overhauled 
him  and  captured  six  or  seven  hundred,  and  Morgan  and 
the  residue  surrendered,  July  26th,  at  Salineville,  three 
miles  from  Wellsville,  on  the  Ohio,  and  near  New  Lisbon. 
A  military  court  sentenced  Morgan  and  his  officers  to  the 
Ohio  penitentiary,  whence  later  he  escaped. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  season  the  great  Ship  Canal 
Convention,  called  by  Mr.  Arnold  and  Mr,  Riddle,  was 


Aug.  18631     EPISODES  DURING  ADJOURNMENT. 


held  at  Chicago,  attended  by  delegates  from  all  the  North 
ern  States.  There  were  large  delegations  from  New  Eng 
land  —  that  from  Maine  being  headed  by  Vice-President 
Hamlin.  Many  speeches  were  made  and  excellent  resolu 
tions  passed,  but  the  convention  was  out  of  time.  We 
had,  however,  apparently  made  such  an  impression  by  the 
movement  in  the  House,  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  to 
deepen  and  embody  it  by  a  convention. 

My  successor  in  the  House  did  not  relieve  me  of  the 
minor  duties  of  the  place,  and  I  made  several  journeys  to 
the  Capital  in  the  interests  of  the  constituency,  in  connec 
tion  with  the  war  and  public  service.  I  passed  through 
Pennsylvania  to  Washington  during  the  second  day  of  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  the  atmosphere  was  in  a  tremor 
with  the  rumors  of  a  great  and  indecisive  collision  of  the 
armies.  There  was  a  half-scared  air  on  the  faces  of  men, 
especially  at  Harrisburg,  and  so  on  to  York,  most  marked 
at  the  latter  place,  which  had  been  visited  and  laid  under 
contribution. 

While  I  was  at  Washington,  came  not  only  the  news  of 
Meade's  great  victory,  but  also  of  the  fall  of  Vicksburg. 
These  events  were  followed  by  another  proclamation  of 
thanks  from  the  grateful  chief  of  the  Republic. 

The  political  campaign  in  Ohio,  upon  which  so  much 
was  supposed  to  depend,  began  early,  and  by  the  Repub. 
licans  was  pushed  with  the  utmost  vigor.  It  really  was  a 
one-sided  contest,  the  result  of  which  was  never  for  a 
moment  in  doubt.  I  had  a  month's  active  duty,  under  the 
direction  of  the  State  Executive  Committee.  They 
printed  a  huge  edition  of  my  speech  on  the  bill  to  indem 
nify  the  President,  and  I  was  assigned  to  the  middle  of 
Ohio,  having  already  spoken  at  several  points  in  the  north 
ern  part  of  the  State.  I  met  Senator  Chandler  at  Paines- 
ville  early  in  September,  and  he  offered  to  accompany  me. 
He  had  a  single  well-worn  and  easy-going  speech,  not  very 
long,  which  always  closed  with  a  philippic  against  England. 


234  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  7VM£S.       [Mar.  1863- 

I  may  note  three  or  four  incidents  of  our  work.  We 
were  assigned  to  Millersburg,  the  seat  of  the  Copperhead 
county  of  Holmes.  It  rained  the  night  we  reached  the 
town,  rained  the  next  morning,  rained  after  breakfast, 
rained  hard  till  noon,  and  rained  harder  till  night.  The 
open-air  meeting  was  abandoned  early  in  the  day.  There 
we  found  Judge  Luther  Day,  of  Ravenna,  a  war  Demo 
crat,  loved  and  confided  in  by  all  parties,  a  pale,  nervous 
little  man,  of  the  finest,  subtlest  fibre  all  through,  timid 
and  shrinking  as  a  woman.  When  I  found  him  he 
was  alone,  ill,  and  utterly  down-hearted.  No  one  had 
received  him,  no  one  had  recognized  him,  no  one  was 
there  to  do  or  say  anything  for  him.  I  never  yet  saw  a 
man  whom  I  could  not  cheer  up,  by  some  means  or  other. 
Mrs.  Seymour,  at  Painesville,  had  placed  in  my  portman 
teau  two  bottles  of  old  wine  and  a  pint  flask  of  genuine 
brandy.  Chandler  had  other  resources.  Judge  Day  was 
a  Democrat,  not  averse  to  cheering  fluids,  but  too  dainty 
for  the  average  Democratic  drinks.  I  found  him  shiver 
ing  in  the  cheerless  reading-room  in  the  morning,  and 
took  him  to  a  bright  little  parlor,  where  we  ordered 
breakfast — rather  late,  as  Chandler's  habit  was. 

It  was  astonishing  what  cheery  words,  bright  comrade 
ship,  mellow  wine,  and  a  touch  of  real  cognac  did  for  a 
thin-skinned,  nervous,  and  for  the  time  doubting  Demo 
crat  on  a  rainy  morning  in  Millersburg.  There  really  was 
a  fine  assembly,  and  about  1 1  A.M.  we  were  in  a  spacious 
hall,  filled  to  its  entire  capacity.  I  introduced  Judge  Day. 
We  had  decided  he  should  make  the  speech,  and  he  did, 
and  one  of  the  best  and  most  effective  of  that  stirring 
campaign.  I  had  been  with  Ben  Stanton  and  Columbus 
Delano,  as  strong  men  as  the  State  had,  and  certainly  as 
effective,  and  I  remembered  Day's  effort  as  one  of  the 
very  best.  He  spoke  two  hours  ;  Chandler  made  an  ener 
getic  little  harangue,  and  we  dismissed  the  crowd. 

Somewhere  west  of  Columbus,  in  a  narrow  valley  of  the 


Aug.  18631     EPISODES  DURING  ADJOURNMENT.  2$$ 

open  country,  was  an  immense  Union  gathering — thirty 
thousand  was  the  estimate — divided  into  three  bodies, 
with  separate  stands,  so  wide  apart  as  to  constitute  three 
immense  mass-meetings.  Charles  Anderson,  of  Cincinnati, 
candidate  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  was  present.  I  had 
never  met  him  before.  He,  Senator  Chandler,  and  myself 
were  assigned  to  one  stand.  It  was  a  sad  trial  to  me. 
Anderson,  a  native  Kentuckian,  a  brother  of  the  hero  of 
Sumter,  had  a  great  reputation  as  a  speaker.  He  followed 
Chandler.  I  was  disappointed,  surprised,  and  finally 
angry.  There  seemed  to  be  in  his  speech  no  doctrine,  no 
leading  ideas,  no  idea  of  any  sort.  He  was  certainly  a 
fluent  speaker,  with  a  good  voice  and  good  delivery,  and 
he  was  a  mimic.  For  nearly  three  hours  he  poured  forth 
an  unceasing  tide  of  rather  coarse  stories,  but  not  a  word 
of  the  present  condition  of  things,  nothing  of  the  war  or 
its  cause,  or  of  the  duty  of  the  citizen.  The  crowd  was 
made  up  of  every-day  folk — farmers,  their  wives,  daughters, 
and  sons.  I  abandoned  all  expectation  of  speaking,  and 
soon  all  desire  to.  The  crowd  certainly  seemed  to  enjoy 
"  Charlie  s  "  oratory.  I  must  stay  till  it  was  through,  and 
was  then  to  be  carried  somewhere  else.  Chandler  and  I 
were  to  part.  I  withdrew  my  attention  from  the  speech 
and  employed  myself  in  noting  the  people  prima  facie,  a 
different  race  from  the  descendants  of  New  England  on 
the  Reserve.  Finally,  Anderson  did  stop  and  I  was 
called.  Half  angry  and  wholly  indifferent,  I  went  for 
ward  to  the  edge  of  the  platform.  I  knew  by  the  sound 
of  my  own  voice  that  I  was  at  par.  I  never  told  a  story 
in  my  life,  and  rarely  made  a  quotation.  The  women, 
though  uneasy,  turned  to  me  as  if  hoping  for  something. 
They  always  inspire  men.  A  thing  I  had  seen  I  could 
describe  effectively.  I  had  aided  in  the  landing  of  two 
boatloads  of  wounded  just  from  a  red  and  rent  field,  the 
most  of  whom  had  been  in  no  surgeon's  hands,  and  some 
of  whom  ceased  to  breathe  ere  we  could  carry  them  to 


236  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.      [Mar.  1863- 

the  hospital.  The  scene  was  vivid  and  possessed  me — I 
passed  out  of  myself — I  could  hear  my  voice — seemed  to 
see  myself.  The  crowd  surged  forward  eagerly,  especially 
the  women,  and  sobs  and  cries  of  anguish  broke  from 
hundreds  of  moved  hearts.  From  the  wounded  it  was  a 
flash  to  the  ghastly  battle-field,  strewn  with  the  wreck  of 
conflict — dead  and  mangled  men  and  horses — with  the 
heavy  sulphurous  clouds  of  smoke  hanging  over  it  ;  and 
the  enemy — Americans  like  ourselves — mad  because  we 
preferred  a  man  of  our  own  for  President,  whom  they  re 
fused  to  vote  for — going  to  war  with  us  for  that — and 
because  we  would  not  permit  them  to  bring  their  slaves 
upon  our  soil  and  reduce  us — States  full  of  workers — to 
the  level  of  those  scourged  and  servile,  bought  and  sold 
laborers.  And  there  were  in  our  midst  many,  fierce  and 
angry  with  us  because  we  defended  ourselves  in  this  war 
— here  in  our  own  State,  allies  of  the  rebels,  fighting  us  on 
our  own  soil.  This  was  the  issue  :  Should  they  or  we 
prevail  ?  If  we  could  not  enforce  the  national  will,  the 
Constitution,  in  Virginia,  we  could  not  in  Ohio,  and  that 
was  our  hard  necessity — to  put  down  the  rebellion  or  to 
see  our  State  strewn  with  the  wreck  of  a  broken  Union. 
I  appealed  to  the  women — the  wives,  mothers,  sweet 
hearts,  and  sisters  of  the  men  and  boys  in  the  fields  and 
camps,  on  the  march,  in  battle,  in  hospital,  and  in  bloody 
graves,  to  see  to  it  that  those  still  spared  to  them  voted 
right  on  this  issue,  and  then  I  stopped.  There  was  no 
applause — no  one  thought  of  that,  nor  had  time  for  it  if 
they  did.  There  were  single  cries  and  exclamations,  and 
men  in  knots  came  hurrying  back  out  of  the  crowd,  but  no 
applause.  As  I  ceased,  calls  came — "  Go  on  !  Go  on  ! 
Go  on  !  " 

"  No,  I  am  going  off,  and  it  is  time  for  you  to  go  home," 
was  my  response. 

My  carriage  with  my  traps  had   driven   round  to  the 


Aug.  1863]     EPISODES  DURING  ADJOURNMENT.  237 

rear  of  the  stand  ;  I  ran  down,  to  be  temporarily  detained 
by  a  small  throng.  My  leave-taking  was  brief. 

When  I  returned  home  I  had  Mr.  Brough  on  my  hands. 
Miss  Ransome,  the  much-sought  artist,  had  one  or  more 
orders  for  the  portrait  of  the  new  popular  idol.  She  found 
him  as  heavy  and  unmanageable  as  an  old-fashioned  Yankee 
"  Indian  pudding."  He  was  heavy  in  person,  and,  when 
placed  in  a  seat  alone,  became  awfully  solemn,  not  to  say 
somnolent.  I  had  to  go  in  and  stir  him  up  mentally.  He 
had  a  splendid  head,  and  when  awakened  by  sharp  mental 
thrusts  his  heavy  face  lighted  up  and  became  very  fine. 
I  remember  once,  when  he  failed  to  keep  the  appointment 
at  the  studio,  I  sat  for  a  right  hand.  The  result  was  an 
admirable  portrait  of  my  thin,  lean  hand,  as  little  like  his 
small,  plump,  and  pudgy  one  as  my  sharp  aquiline  face 
was  like  his,  so  round  and  ruddy. 

At  the  election  Brough  had  in  round  figures  sixty-one 
thousand  majority  of  the  home  vote,  and  forty  thousand 
of  the  soldier  vote,  taken  at  the  front, — one  hundred  and 
one  thousand  majority.  It  never  occurred  to  me  to  say 
to  Mr.  Greeley  :  "  What  did  I  tell  you  ?  "  Indeed  I  had 
told  him  nothing  so  wild. 

This  Union  victory  in  Ohio  was  as  important  to  the 
national  cause  as  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  or  the  fall  of 
Vicksburg. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 
OFFICIAL  VOYAGE  TO  CUBA. 

JANUARY-FEBRUARY,    1 863 . 

The  U.   S.    Vanderbilt—lte  Consul  at   Nassau— Visit   to   the   Blockade 

Runners. 

I  WENT  as  a  consul  to  Matanzas,  Cuba,  via  New  Provi 
dence.  I  was  expected  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  our 
consul  there,  and  note  anything  I  might  discover  of 
blockade  running,  the  headquarters  of  which  were  at 
Nassau.  I  was  to  confer  with  the  Consul-General  at 
Havana  and  with  Commodore  Bailey  of  our  squadron, 
then  in  those  seas,  to  be  of  what  service  I  might,  and  keep 
the  State  Department  advised  of  all  I  noticed.  I  left  New 
York  January  4,  1863,  with  the  mercury  below  zero,  and 
my  spirits  much  lower.  My  diary,  written  day  by  day  on 
the  steamer,  is  filled  with  bitter  regrets  for  leaving  the 
country.  True  the  courts  were  nearly  closed,  but  I  might 
have  been  a  Judge  Advocate  in  the  army,  and  worn  the 
army  livery,  although  this,  for  a  non-combatant,  would 
have  seemed  a  mockery.  Why  did  not  I  take  a  regiment 
at  the  beginning  ?  Somebody  had  offered  me  a  judgeship 
somewhere.  But  a  judge  is  a  second-rate  functionary  in 
presence  of  the  leading  advocates.  I  believe  Mr.  Chase 
thought  I  might  be  appointed  to  the  Freedman's  Bureau, 
but  that  would  require  solicitation,  and  my  health  was 

238 


Jan,-Feb.  1863]     OFFICIAL    VOYAGE    TO   CUBA.  239 

broken.  The  Cleveland  Bar  gave  me  a  dinner  before 
I  left. 

I  sailed  on  the  English  steamer  Corsica,  Captain  La 
Missouria.  He  carried  a  large  company  of  passengers, 
most  of  whom  proved  to  be  blockade  runners,  Confederate 
officers  and  agents,  with  a  small  knot  of  true-hearted 
Americans,  full  of  loyalty  and  courage. 

Three  or  four  incidents  of  my  voyage  and  short  resi 
dence  in  Cuba,  connected  with  our  great  struggle,  may 
not  be  out  of  place  in  these  recollections  of  the  war. 

I  quote  from  my  diary  on  shipboard  four  days  out : 

"While  dressing  this  morning  I  was  startled  by  the  silence  of  the  ma 
chinery  and  the  general  quietude  on  board.  Looking  out,  I  saw  looming 
up  from  the  sleeping  ocean  about  two  miles  away,  a  huge  side-wheel  steamer, 
evidently  a  war-ship,  and  doubtless  one  of  our  own  dear  old  Uncle  Sam's. 
Hurrying  on  deck,  I  found  the  Corsica  lying  to,  flying  the  British  flag,  and 
all  hands  mustered  on  the  lower  deck.  On  came  the  stranger,  looming 
higher  and  broader,  on  and  on  until  the  diminutive  red  flutter  at  her  stern 
expanded  into  our  grand  old  flag.  Lord,  how  the  pulses  throbbed  when  we 
made  that  out  !  flouting  these  pirate-haunted  seas  with  scornful  defiance. 
On  she  came  until  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when,  pausing,  a  launch  fell 
from  her  davits,  an  officer  and  crew  entered  it  with  a  flag,  and  she  came 
dancing  over  the  wave  crests,  now  sparkling  in  the  risen  sun  and  tossing 
under  a  fanning  breeze.  Our  ladder  was  lowered  and  Captain  La  Missou 
ria  stood  forward  with  an  anxious  air,  keeping  a  little  space  clear  for  his 
guest,  when  a  young  lieutenant  in  full  dress,  with  a  fresh,  eager  face,  and 
flashing  blue  eyes,  sprang  lightly  upon  the  English  deck,  saluting  its  com 
mander  with  grace  and  receiving  a  courteous  response. 

"  His  ship  was  the  U.  S.  man-of-war  Vanderbilt !  How  the  name  ran 
over  our  deck  !  He  was  just  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  whither  they 
had  followed  the  Florida,  and  had  merely  called  upon  us  for  such  newspapers 
as  were  at  hand.  They  had  chased  a  light-footed  blockade  runner  in  these 
waters  the  day  before,  which  escaped  after  consigning  her  cotton  to  the  sea. 
The  files  of  New  York  papers  were  brought,  the  officers  saluted,  and  the 
lieutenant  turned  to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  where  I  had  a  word  with  him, 
making  myself  known,  and  giving  him  additional  papers  and  the  latest  war 
incidents.  He  was  soon  in  the  stern  of  his  launch,  and  her  sturdy,  neatly 
uniformed  crew,  bending  to  their  oars,  lifted  the  little  craft  almost  out  of 
the  water  and  sent  her  tripping  over  the  sunlit  sea  to  her  huge  parent.  Im 
mediately  the  Vanderbilt  was  in  motion,  came  down  and  swept  grandly  in 
a  circle  around  the  still  motionless  Corsica,  so  near  that  we  could  have  recog 
nized  an  acquaintance  on  her  decks. 


240  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.       [Jan.  1863- 

"  We  were  a  little  knot  of  loyal  Americans  standing  apart  from  our 
numerous,  and  now  seemingly  grim  enemies  ;  and  as  our  American  war 
ship,  headed  toward  our  home  land,  came  nearest  us,  with  her  flag  floating 
out  as  if  to  caress  us,  the  impulse  was  irresistible,  and  glad  words  and  cheers 
would  escape  from  our  throats,  which,  perhaps  should  have  been  repressed. 
Somehow  it  had  come  to  be  known  that  I  was  in  the  commission  of  the 
United  States,  and  what  was  said  of  this  '  breach  of  discipline,'  as  it  was 
called,  is  charged  to  me.  Do  I  care  ?  I  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
bright,  educated  young  Canadian  of  kindred  Irish  blood,  who  told  me  that 
some  of  the  rebels  on  board  made  complaint  to  the  Captain,  but  nothing  but 
a  day  or  two  of  black  looks  from  that  gentleman  came  of  it.  It  is  some 
punishment  for  me  to  meet  everywhere,  on  everything,  especially  the  dinner 
service,  the  eternal  and  for  ever  rampant  British  lion,  standing  on  one  foot 
on  nothing,  and  pawing  with  the  other  three  at  no  particular  thing  in  space. 
I  wish  Chandler  of  Michigan  were  here  to  twist  his  tail. 

"  We  reached  reluctant  little  Nassau  in  the  night,  and  had  to  await  dawn 
to  pass  into  the  channel.  What  a  day  I  made  of  it  in  that  remote  sub 
tropical  knob  above  the  sea  ! 

"  At  the  Victoria,  the  only  spacious  building  of  that  time,  I  found  all  our 
late  voyagers,  and  each  in  his  own  proper  character.  There  was  my  room 
mate,  the  gentle  and  cheery  Johnson  of  Savannah,  Georgia,  who  hid  in  the 
presence  of  the  Vanderbilt,  while  my  stolid  Russian  vis-a-vis  in  the  dining- 
room  was  a  young  scion  of  a  Moscow  family,  who  had  invested  his  patri 
mony  in  two  blockade  runners — the  blockhead  !  He  was  here  met  with  the 
exhilarating  news  that  one  had  just  been  captured  and  the  other  had 
burst  a  boiler.  I  remembered  that  I  had  declined  to  take  wine  with  him  at 
the  Corsica's  table.  Many  others  wholly  unknown  to  me,  developed  into 
very  well-known  men  here,  and  were  received  as  if  expected.  Among  them 
a  diminutive  dark  little  man  of  Jewish  aspect,  named  A.  Wolf,  who  had 
made  a  fortune  on  a  cargo  of  shoddy,  landed  in  the  dark  of  a  conspiring 
moon  and  sold  to  the  rebels.  I  congratulated  him. 

"  Our  New  York  papers,  which  contained  assurances  that  the  whole  rebel 
coast  was  unapproachable  to  blockade  runners,  were  here  read  with  shouts  of 
derision.  The  inside  channel  at  Nassau  held  several  deeply  laden  vessels 
from  'way  down  south  in  Dixey,'  two  of  which  arrived  that  morning,  but 
two,  long  expected,  were  among  the  '  loved  and  early  lost.' 

"  Later  in  the  day  I  called  upon  the  prim  and  rather  stately  American 
Consul — the  first  I  had  ever  seen  at  his  post, — who  informed  me  that  within 
the  last  three  weeks  more  successful  activity  was  apparent  in  that  useful 
channel  of  the  cotton  trade,  than  during  any  other  time  for  the  last  ten 
months.  He  probably  was  impressed  with  the  idea  that  I  was  a  Northern 
Copperhead,  as  I  came  on  the  Corsica.  He  was  in  evening  costume  and  ex 
cused  himself  on  the  plea  of  dining  with  a  party  of  distinguished  gentlemen. 

"  Meantime,  my  Canadian  friend  and  I  visited  the  blockade  runners,  and 
my  companion  surprised  me  on  the  first  one,  by  announcing  the  presence  on 


Feb.  1863]  OFFICIAL   VOYAGE  TO  CUBA.  241 

deck  of  an  American  Consul,  and  I  don't  care  to  mention  what  distinguishing 
additions  were  extemporized  by  him.  So  far  from  receiving  me  coolly,  the 
officers  felt  called  upon  to  show  us  special  courtesy,  and  showed  us  their 
steamer.  Indeed  this  distinction  was  accorded  us  on  each  one  visited.  The 
last  one  was  the  then  famous  Alice \  which  boasted  the  distinction  of  having 
already  made  three  successful  voyages,  a  very  exceptional  career,  as  was 
freely  admitted.  Indeed,  so  powerful  and  vigilant  had  our  blockade 
become  that  few  made  more  than  one  voyage.  In  a  discussion  with  a  very 
intelligent  officer  on  the  Alice  he  admitted  that,  taking  the  whole  number  of 
vessels  engaged  in  this  traffic  of  desperate  gambling,  and  the  whole  capital 
and  cost  invested,  it  was  doubtful  whether  the  profit  was  greatly  in  excess 
of  the  loss. 

"  When  I  reached  the  Corsica  at  eleven  at  night,  I  found  two  Conchs1 
profoundly  drunk  and  asleep  on  the  floor  of  my  state-room,  retailing  alco 
holic  drinks  in  vapor  without  a  license. 

"  I  took  refuge  on  the  cushions  of  a  cabin.  I  had  an  interview  next 
morning  with  Captain  la  Missouria,  by  his  request,  which  led  to  a  pleas- 
anter  and  more  spacious  cabinet  room,  and  to  an  agreeable  acquaintance 
with  the  Corsica's  chief,  from  whom  I  parted  with  regret.  We  made  a  bad 
exchange  of  passengers  at  Nassau.  We  lost  two  or  three  hundred  gentlemen, 
and  received  in  exchange  a  hundred  or  more  scurvy,  broken-down  vagabonds. 

"  I  see  Sunday  the  loth  noted  as  marked  by  the  duck  trousers  of  the  Cap 
tain  and  officers,  the  first  flying  fish,  and  an  added  depth  to  the  deep  and 
indescribable  blue  of  the  tropic  sea,  of  which  no  conception  can  be  formed 
till  seen  ;  and  the  night  succeeding  as  marked  by  a  broad  phosphorescent 
wake  of  white  light,  and  my  first  sight  of  the  Southern  Cross  low  down  in  the 
southern  horizon.  I  never  met  a  Cuban  who  had  seen  that  constellation.  I 
left  the  island  the  7th  of  April  following,  and  may  note  an  incident  or  two 
with  which  I  was  connected,  as  a  part  of  my  duties  pertaining  to  the  investi 
gation  into  blockade  running." 

1  A  Conch  was  either  a  native  or  a  long  resident  of  New  Providence  and 

sister  islands. 
16 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 
BLOCKADE    RUNNERS. 

JANUARY-FEBRUARY    1863. 
Built  in  Brooklyn — Sold  and  Transferred  in  Cuba. 

ON  my  arrival  at  Matanzas,  the  Vice-Consul,  Mr.  H.  C 
Hall,  one  of  our  best  consular  officers,  called  my  attention 
to  a  steamer  in  the  bay,  lying  a  half  mile  from  the  shore, 
and  remote  from  other  craft.  He  reported  her  as  having 
arrived  about  the  middle  of  December  from  the  United 
States  direct.  She  was  a  side-wheel  steamer,  light,  and 
sharply  built,  painted  white,  with  no  standing  rigging  of 
any  sort,  and  without  accommodations  for  passengers, 
having  nothing  but  two  or  three  hundred  tons  of  anthra 
cite  coal  on  board.  She  much  resembled  the  Long  Is 
land  Sound  steamers. 

Of  American  build  and  registry,  she  was  consigned  to 
Don  Rafael  Lucas  Sanchez,  whose  first  name  (Rafile  in 
Spanish)  was  placed  on  her  wheel-houses.  In  her  registry, 
Plutarcho  Gonzales,  of  the  firm  of  Martinez,  Gonzales, 
&  Co.,  of  New  York,  appeared  to  be  the  sole  owner. 
She  was  commanded  by  B.  S.  Briggs.  Her  papers 
were  regular,  except  that  her  crew  was  shipped  at  one 
dollar  each  per  month.  This  was  to  meet  the  requisi 
tions  of  our  law,  requiring  a  month's  wages  to  be  paid 
each  officer,  seaman,  or  hand,  on  being  discharged  in  a 
foreign  port.  A  nominal  sum  would  meet  the  statute, 

242 


Jan.-Feb.  1863]  BLOCKADE  RUNNERS.  243 

and  show  that  all  hands  shipped  with  the  expectation 
of  being  discharged  in  Cuba. 

Another  Briggs  came  out  on  her,  armed  with  a  bill  of 
sale  from  Gonzales  to  Sanchez,  to  be  executed  before  the 
American  Consul.  To  overcome  some  of  Mr.  Hall's 
scruples  and  smooth  the  way  for  the  transfer,  Sanchez 
exhibited  to  him  an  affidavit  made  by  Gonzales,  the 
nominal  owner,  stating  that  the  steamer  was  built  in  a 
shipyard  in  Brooklyn,  on  account  of  Sanchez,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Briggses,  who  held  a  paper  showing  that 
Martinez,  Gonzales,  &  Co.,  were  his  financial  agents, 
that  the  name  of  Plutarcho  Gonzales,  a  nominal  Ameri 
can  citizen,  was  used  to  effect  a  registry,  so  that  the 
steamer  could  go  abroad  upon  her  proper  business. 
She  could  be  used  alone  for  blockade  running  in  the 
cotton  trade.  Don  Rafael  Sanchez  was  the  gentleman 
to  whom  eight  of  the  nine  vessels  escaping  from  the 
blockaded  ports  and  reaching  Matanzas  were  consigned. 
Briggs,  his  building  agent  in  New  York,  brought  the  Irene 
from  Charleston  in  1862,  which  took  the  British  flag  at 
Matanzas,  but  she  was  afterwards,  notwithstanding,  cap 
tured  at  sea  by  Commodore  Bailey's  squadron.  It  came 
to  be  known  to  us  also  that  Sanchez's  contract  with  the 
Brooklyn  ship-builders  was  for  six  steamers  of  the  same 
pattern,  of  which  the  Rafael  was  the  first,  to  be  followed 
by  the  rest — one  each  month,  until  the  sixth  was  delivered 
in  Cuba. 

Mr.  Hall  knew  of  my  appointment,  and  waited  in  daily 
expectation  of  my  arrival.  My  first  labor  in  the  office 
was  a  careful  dispatch  covering  all  we  knew  of  the  case, 
and  the  most  probable  of  our  suspicions.  As  the  papers 
were  all  regular,  Mr.  Hall  had  no  choice  but  to  see  the 
transfer  properly  made,  and  the  discharged  officers  and 
crew  paid,  as  set  forth  by  the  papers. 

Mr.  Hall,  who  had  spent  all  his  life  from  boyhood  in 
Spanish-American  countries  and  understood  the  Spanish 


244  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Jan.  1863- 

and  native  character  thoroughly,  had  gained  the  confi 
dence  of  a  Catalonian  boatman1  whom  he  had  engaged,  for 
me,  to  watch  the  movements  on  the  Rafael.  Not  long 
after,  he  reported  that  the  name  on  the  wheel-house  had 
been  changed.  Rafael  had  yielded  place  to  the  Young 
Republic,  and  other  changes  were  made,  rendering  her 
identification  more  difficult.  One  night  in  the  dark  of 
the  moon,  our  spy  reported  that  the  steamer  would  run 
out  the  next  night.  Our  Consul-General  at  Havana  had 
already  been  apprised  of  the  situation.  That  evening  my 
messenger  with  my  dispatches  left  for  Havana,  express. 
At  the  same  time  I  placed  a  duplicate  in  the  Spanish 
post-office,  addressed  to  Mr.  Savage,  American  Consul- 
General,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Spaniards.  This  last  was 
three  days  later  delivered  back  to  me  by  the  Matanzas 
postmaster,  in  a  slovenly  condition,  showing  that  it 
had  been  violated — as  I  had  expected  it  would  be.  My 
private  express,  on  whom  I  relied,  delivered  his  missive 
punctually  and  a  swift  dispatch-boat  reached  the  squadron 
in  time.  The  Young  Republic  was  sighted  as  she  left  the 
mouth  of  Matanzas  Bay,  was  chased  ashore  where  she 
could  not  be  captured,  and  finally  made  her  way  by 
creeping  along  the  coast,  reached  the  Bay  of  Havana  in 
a  badly  damaged  condition,  and  was  abandoned  there. 

I  hardly  expected  to  see  more  of  Don  Rafile's  steamers. 

With  February  23d,  however,  came  the  Conqueror, 
spick  and  span  in  white  trim,  a  twin  of  the  Rafael,  com 
manded  by  the  same  Briggs,  owned  by  the  same  Plu- 
tarcho  Gonzales,  and  consigned  to  the  same  Rafael  San 
chez — officers  and  crew  shipped  at  a  dollar  a  head  per 
month.  Gonzales,  the  American  owner,  came  out  in 
person,  all  the  papers  were  in  due  form,  and  Plutarcho 

1  No  one  can  be  a  boatman  or  fisherman  in  a  Spanish  colony  unless  he 
has  served  in  the  Spanish  navy — which  no  Cuban  ever  does.  All  Cubans 
hate  Spain  with  a  fury  of  hate  real  and  unknown  to  us  and  are  all  our 
friends. 


Feb.  1863]  BLOCKADE  RUNNERS,  245 

executed  a  bill  of  each  to  Sanchez.  When  he  came  to 
pay  off  the  crew,  who  were  to  be  discharged  in  a  foreign 
port,  the  Consul  presented  him  with  a  schedule  of  wages 
at  the  established  rates,  and  required  the  sum  total  to  be 
deposited  with  him  as  a  condition  precedent  to  the  trans 
fer.  The  Spaniard  turned  blue,  and  went  away  for 
counsel.  Whatever  he  may  have  learned,  he  came  back 
bland,  suave,  and  tropical,  and  paid  down  the  gold.  Mr. 
Hall  proceeded  to  Havana  with  my  dispatches,  and  so  ar 
ranged  with  the  officers  of  our  squadron  that  the  Conqueror 
was  captured  when  she  put  to  sea.  No  more  were  sent 
out.  The  unmistakable  signs  of  yellow  fever  induced 
the  Consul's  friends  to  hurry  him  away  a  week  before  the 
time  set  by  himself.  He  returned  to  New  York  on  the 
Eagle,  Captain  Adams. 

Bluff,  stout,  coarse  old  Captain  Adams  and  his  fast 
steamer,  the  Eagle,  have  long  since  passed  from  mention 
among  men.  The  Eagle  was  the  fastest  ocean-going  com 
mercial  steamer  of  that  day.  She  was  in  the  passenger 
trade  between  New  York  and  Havana.  I  was  to  sail  on 
her  on  Saturday  at  noon.  I  reached  Havana  the  Friday 
before.  At  the  American  Consulate  I  met  Captain  Adams 
and  a  dozen  American  gentlemen  in  a  little  flutter  of 
excitement. 

The  Eagle  had,  a  few  weeks  before,  given  efficient  aid 
in  the  capture  of  a  blockade  runner,  and  with  her  heroic 
old  commander  was  specially  set  apart  for  vengeance.  It 
was  rumored  that  the  famous  Florida  had  returned,  and 
one  of  her  early  enterprises  was  to  be  the  destruction  of 
the  Eagle.  To  the  credit  of  the  Americans  in  Cuba  be  it 
said,  that  of  all  the  many  I  met  there,  no  matter  of  what 
political  association  at  home,  I  saw  and  heard  of  none  but 
men  of  the  most  intense  patriotism.  These  men,  who  had 
come  to  know,  and  many  of  whom  had  experienced,  the 
haughty  arrogance  and  insolence  of  the  Spaniard,  shown 
on  all  occasions  toward  the  United  States  and  the  Union 


246  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Jan.  1863- 

cause,  were  at  white  heat  in  their  fervor  for  the  success  of 
the  national  arms  ;  and  I  should  add  that  to  a  man  the 
Cubans  were  with  us  with  all  their  tropical  intensity. 

At  the  Consulate  I  was  shown  two  letters,  one  addressed 
to  Captain  Adams,  advising  him  that  a  well  planned  at 
tempt  would  be  made  on  his  second  day  out  to  capture 
his  ship.  The  means  to  be  used  were  not  disclosed,  but 
he  was  cautioned  against  his  passengers.  The  other  letter 
purported  to  be  an  intercepted  communication  forwarded 
to  the  Consul,  advising  him  that  a  Confederate  armed  ship 
was  hidden  among  the  islands,  and  it  was  thought  that  she 
might  have  intentions  on  the  Eagle.  Both  were  unsigned. 
The  quiver  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  time,  the  wild  spirit 
of  adventure  and  desperate  enterprise  born  of  the  war, 
lent  probability  to  these  statements  and  gave  piquancy  to 
the  impending  voyage. 

Early  in  the  forenoon  several  of  us,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Savage,  went  on  board  the  Eagle,  lying  in  the  bay  under 
the  dazzling  tropical  sun.  We  scanned  the  appearance  of 
every  male  and  some  female  passengers,  and  the  conclu 
sion  was  that  peril  did  not  enter  the  steamer  with  any  of 
them. 

The  last  things  to  stand  out  individually  on  the  receding 
Cuban  coast  are  the  royal  palms  of  its  highlands ;  the 
very  last,  the  Pan  of  Matanzas.1  They  faded  from  vision, 
the  phantoms  of  an  exquisite  dream  in  the  presence  of 
awakening  consciousness. 

As  we  anticipated,  there  were  no  persons  on  board  who 
excited  the  slightest  suspicion  of  sinister  purpose  toward 
the  Eagle,  her  master,  or  passengers. 

We  were  also  on  the  look-out  for  a  pursuing  sail.  What 
we  looked  for  we  saw.  At  about  1 1  A.M.  Sunday,  on  the 
southern  rim  of  the  sea,  there  hung  a  craft  that  through 

1  Pan — loaf.  There  are  two  of  them,  near  each  other,  seen  from  a  vessel 
leaving  or  approaching  Havana.  They  are  in  a  line  with  the  course,  and 
seem  one. 


Feb.  1863]  BLOCKADE  RUNNERS.  247 

the  glass  had  a  suspicious  look.  She  was  many  points  to 
the  westward,  and  on  a  course  to  intercept  us  leagues 
ahead.  Within  an  hour  she  loomed  to  ominous  propor 
tions.  An  armed  schooner,  her  two  masts  lifted  to  the 
loftiest  height,  carrying  all  canvas,  and  aided  by  a  pro 
peller.  She  had  a  good  wind,  and  at  her  rate  of  speed 
would  certainly  intercept  the  Eagle  if  she  kept  on  her 
course,  as  she  was  running  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  an 
hour,  and  was  capable  in  that  water  of  doing  even  better. 
Whoever  was  in  the  secret  of  the  warning  to  the  Eagle 
could  but  feel  a  lively  interest  in  the  approach  of  the  two 
ships  to  the  point  where  their  courses  would  intersect. 
When  about  a  mile  asunder,  the  chase  signalled  the  Eagle 
to  lie  to.  No  heed  was  given  to  the  signal.  A  minute 
later  the  ship's  head  turned  to  the  wind,  a  white  puff  of 
smoke  came  from  her  side,  and  the  boom  of  her  gun 
reached  us  an  instant  later.  The  response  to  this  was  a 
burst  of  speed  by  the  Eagle,  and  she  darted  ahead  at  a 
rate  that  seemed  to  defy  pursuit.  Immediately  the  chase 
rounded  up  her  broadside  to  us,  another  white  puff  was 
seen,  and  a  shot  struck  the  sea  a  hundred  yards  from  the 
Eagle,  on  a  line  with  our  wheel-house.  Luckily  it  sank 
where  it  struck.  With  the  last  shot  we  were  not  dis 
pleased  to  see  our  own  old  flag,  then  for  the  first  time, 
fluttering  above  her  taffrail. 

Instantly  the  machinery  on  the  Eagle  stopped  and  she 
put  her  head  to  the  wind,  awaiting  the  approach  of  her 
persistent  pursuer.  On  she  came,  as  beautiful  a  model  of 
naval  art  as  the  sea  floated.  When  within  hail  came  a 
far-reaching  voice,  "  What  steamer  is  that  ?  "  "  The 
Eagle  !  "  in  a  hoarse  voice  in  which  years  of  tempest  made 
themselves  heard,  responded  angry  old  Adams.  "  Cant 
you  read  ?  "  with  the  emphasis  of  a  hand  thrown  upward 
to  where  the  steamer's  name  floated  in  characters  a  fathom 
long.  Turning  its  head  to  avoid  us,  the  cruiser  swept 
around  in  a  narrow  circle,  the  tops  of  the  masts  and  upper 


248  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.    [Jan.-Feb.1863 

yards  bowing  to  us  and  seeming  almost  to  dip,  as  beau 
tiful  and  graceful  a  thing  as  the  imagination  could  con 
ceive.  At  the  nearest  point  of  her  approach  a  voice  went 
to  her  from  one  of  the  Eagle  s  passengers  :  "  What  ship  is 
that  ?  "  Immediately  there  was  displayed  above  her  bul 
warks,  "  Grand  Gulf"  one  of  the  newest  additions  to  the 
permanent  navy.  She  carried  seven  guns.  Upon  this 
response  we  gave  her  three  hearty  cheers,  and  she  stood 
away  as  if  to  return  to  her  former  cruising  ground.  We 
were  four  days  in  the  passage,  and  I  was  soon  in  my  old 
Washington  quarters.  With  nothing  but  the  American 
papers  of  most  uncertain  arrival  and  disjointed  dates,  I 
had  received  but  shreds  and  patches  of  the  leading  inci 
dents  of  the  war,  in  Congress,  or  at  the  front.  My  first 
work  was  to  post  myself  up  to  date. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE  THIRTY-EIGHTH  CONGRESS. 

1863-1864. 

A  Glance  at  the  War. 

A  GLANCE  at  the  38th  Congress  is  necessary  to  this 
series  of  sketches  of  the  war. 

The  House  was  elected  in  the  dark  days  of  1862.  Sel 
dom  has  the  personnel  of  a  House  been  so  completely 
changed  without  a  change  of  parties.  Indeed  there  were 
well  grounded  apprehensions  that  in  the  uncertainty  of 
party  lines  in  some  States  and  districts  the  House  might 
not  be  organized  by  an  unquestioned  Republican  ma 
jority.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  really  very  uneasy.  Three  con 
spicuous  generals  had  been  elected  to  the  House,  while  in 
the  field,  Garfield,  Schenck,  and  Frank  Blair,  and  he 
insisted  that  they  should  all  be  present  at  least  at  the 
organization  of  the  House. 

Of  the  new  names  in  that  body,  several  were  destined 
to  the  front  rank  in  the  political  history  of  the  Republic, 
and  three  or  four  were  to  affect  the  course  of  the  nation's 
history  in  a  marked  degree. 

In  the  dark  days  of  December,  1863,  James  A.  Garfield, 
fresh  from  the  field  of  war,  met  James  Gillespie  Elaine, 
recently  from  his  editorial  chair.  Garfield  was  then  thirty- 
one  years  old  and  Elaine  thirty-three.  Their  entrance 
upon  the  stage  was  of  as  much  latent  significance  to  the 

249 


250  RECOLLECTIONS  OF   WAR    TIMES.  [1863- 

Republic  as  to  themselves.  Men  with  much  in  common 
that  was  brilliant  and  great,  they  yet  presented  great 
contrasts.  They  at  once  became  fast  friends,  and  from 
this  friendship  flowed  influences  and  consequences  largely 
shaping  the  destinies  of  the  Republic,  perhaps  never  to 
be  fully  understood  outside  of  a  small  circle.  Colliding 
was  still  in  the  House.  He  was  ten  years  older  than 
Elaine,  and  ripe  in  his  Congressional  career.  How  mys 
teriously  the  fortunes  of  these  greatly  gifted  young  men 
were  made  to  mingle  and  become  interdependent !  From 
Ohio  came  also  battle-scarred  Schenck  and  Rufus  P. 
Spalding  ;  also  Alexander  Long  of  Cincinnati,  who  made 
the  boldest  treasonable  speech  ever  heard  in  the  House, 
and  who  underwent  instant  and  total  extermination  at 
Garfield's  hands,  as  may  be  told  later.  From  Illinois 
came  William  R.  Morrison,  Eben  C.  Ingersoll,  and  John 
F.  Farnsworth.  Indiana  contributed  Orth.  Iowa  sent 
John  A.  Kasson  and  William  B.  Allison.  Kentucky  fur 
nished  Brutus  J.  Clay  and  Green  Clay  Smith.  John  A. 
J.  Creswell  entered  the  House  from  Maryland,  to  be  trans 
ferred  later  to  the  Senate — a  valuable  acquisition  and  in 
good  time.  Henry  Winter  Davis  returned  to  the  scene 
of  his  earlier  achievements.  George  S.  Boutwell  made  his 
first  appearance  on  the  national  stage  in  this  House,  as  did 
Cakes  Ames,  of  evil  omen. 

This  Congress  also  saw  the  advent  of  Ignatius  Donnelly 
in  the  House  before  he  disposed  of  Mr.  Shakespeare. 
Henry  T.  Blow  from  Missouri  was  there  also.  Additional 
men  of  importance  came  from  New  York — James  Brooks, 
and  Fernando  Wood,  with  new  names — Ganson,  Gris- 
wold,  Kernan,  and  others.  Randall  made  his  first  ap 
pearance,  as  did  Schofield  from  Pennsylvania.  Thomas  A. 
Jencks  did  honor  to  Rhode  Island.  Charles  A.  Eldridge 
came  into  the  House  from  Wisconsin.  A  House  with 
these  accessions  must  be  distinguished  for  ability  ;  yet 
brains  alone  have  not  always  made  a  useful  and  success- 


1864]  THE  3$TH  CONGRESS.  25  I 

ful  House  of  Representatives,  as  our  parliamentary  his 
tory  unfortunately  shows. 

The  Senate  also  received  some  important  accessions : 
Buckalew  from  Pennsylvania,  E.  D.  Morgan,  Gratz  Brown, 
Reverdy  Johnson,  brave  old  Governor  Hicks  of  Mary 
land,  and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  from  Indiana. 

The  House  lost  none  of  its  really  leading  spirits,  nor 
did  the  Senate.  Both  were  much  strengthened,  especially 
the  House,  nor  were  the  Republicans  embarrassed  by  a 
lack  of  numbers  in  that  body. 

Colfax  was  elected  Speaker  by  one  hundred  and  one 
against  eighty-two  for  all  other  candidates.  S.  S.  Cox 
received  forty-two  votes.  The  3/th  Congress  had  taken 
the  true  ground  for  dealing  with  the  rebellion,  and  upon 
the  same  principle  the  38th  broadly  planted  itself.  In 
deed  there  was  no  other,  and  with  clear-sighted,  brave, 
tried  leaders,  steadily  advancing  on  the  old  lines,  the 
tide  of  the  war  was  to  rise  and  sweep  on  till  the  Confed 
eracy  was  overcome  and  swept  away.  The  necessary  as 
sault  on  slavery  culminated  in  this  Congress  in  the  logical 
Thirteenth  Amendment  of  the  Constitution,  abolishing 
slavery  in  all  the  wide  limits  of  the  Republic.  Still  there 
were  armies  and  battles  and  bloodshed,  and  Grant's 
bloody  path  through  the  Wilderness  was  yet  to  be 
made. 

On  the  great  proposition  of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the 
Democracy  remained  true  to  its  instincts  and  traditions, 
and  Hendricks  in  the  Senate  made  a  speech  not  to  be 
forgotten  nor  forgiven. 

The  October  call  for  three  hundred  thousand  men,  not 
withstanding  the  great  bounties,  produced  but  a  fraction 
of  the  required  number.  February  I,  1864,  an  order  was 
issued  to  draft  five  hundred  thousand,  to  serve  three  years 
from  March  loth  ensuing,  minus  those  received  prior  to 
March  1st.  This  was  said  to  amount  to  a  practical  call  for 
two  hundred  thousand.  The  gains  in  number  prior  to 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.  [1863- 

March  1st  were  quite  cancelled  in  the  disasters  of  the  Red 
River  cotton-plundering  campaign  under  Banks. 

Perhaps  at  no  period  of  the  war  was  Congress  called 
upon  for  greater  exertions  than  during  the  long  session 
of  the  38th  Congress.  All  the  available  resources  of 
the  Republic  were  put  in  requisition.  All  the  people  of 
the  hostile  sections  were  at  war.  The  powers  of  the  ex 
ecutive  and  legislative  departments  were  welded  into  one 
— a  compound  arm  to  place  immense  armies  in  the  field. 
At  the  head  of  the  legislative  department  stood  the  Mili 
tary  Committee  of  the  House.  More  than  one  million  two 
hundred  thousand  soldiers  had  been  in  the  Union  armies 
in  1863  ;  of  these,  nearly  three  hundred  thousand  had  left 
the  ranks  without  leave  during  the  last  year  of  Halleck. 
It  was  the  year  of  the  ineffective  draft  and  riot ;  of  ruinous 
bounties  so  fatal  to  the  army,  of  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hud 
son,  of  Gettysburg,  Stone  River,  and  Chickamauga.  The 
armies  of  the  Tennessee,  the  Potomac,  the  Cumberland, 
and  the  Ohio  were  consolidated  under  Grant,  and  the  year 
closed  with  not  more  than  five  hundred  thousand  effective 
soldiers  in  the  field.  Fifteen  hundred  thousand  soldiers 
were  required  for  the  campaigns  of  1864,  so  that,  after  all 
deductions  and  credits,  about  nine  hundred  thousand  raw 
recruits  were  required. 

The  Secretary  of  War  of  the  Confederacy  in  his  report 
of  December,  1863,  was  opposed  to  the  employment  of 
slaves  as  soldiers  in  its  armies,  so  inferior  were  they  in  the 
requisite  qualities.  In  our  own  army  they  were  kept  at  a 
rate  of  lower  bounties  and  pay  than  were  the  whites.  This 
unjust  distinction  was  determined  upon  in  this  year  of  1864. 
General  Grant  was  appointed  General-in-chief  of  all  our 
armies  March  10,  1864.  The  first  news  of  conflict  in  the 
field  was  of  Banks's  battle  of  Pleasant  Hill,  on  the  Red 
River.  Sherman  was  still  in  the  southwest.  The  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  nearest  us,  was  being  reorganized  prepara- 


1864]  THE  jSTff  CONGRESS.  253 

tory  to  its  plunge  into  the  wilderness  on  its  final  advance 
upon  Richmond. 

Very  soon  came  the  offers  of  the  four  States  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Iowa,  of  the  hundred-day  men  for 
home  duty,  guards,  and  garrisons.  There  was  a  feeling  of 
determination,  strength,  and  courage.  The  war  had  edu 
cated  our  people  and  had  toned  them  up  to  its  needs. 

The  conscription  laws  needed  to  be  revised  and  re 
formed.  This  was  mainly  the  duty  of  the  Military  Com 
mittee  of  the  House.  It  must  devise  a  more  efficient 
means  of  placing  in  the  hands  of  the  drill-masters  and 
company  officers  the  needed  supply  of  the  raw  material 
of  which  soldiers  are  formed. 

Experience  at  the  front  was  quite  as  necessary  to  fit  a 
man  for  a  post  on  this  important  committee  as  for  the 
command  of  a  regiment  in  the  field.  As  may  be  remem 
bered,  crippled,  grim  old  General  Schenckwas  at  the  head 
of  it,  with  Garfield,  Frank  Blair,  and  others  to  second  him. 

I  found  Schenck — an  old  friend — and  Garfield '  in  the 
old  John  Quincy  Adams  house  on  C  Street  near  4^2  Street, 
an  historic  neighborhood.  On  one  side  was  the  house 

1  Garfield  had  been  my  law  student,  and,  as  may  be  supposed,  I  had  free 
access  to  his  quarters.  My  observation  at  their  breakfast  table  one  morning 
showed  me  some  of  the  ways  of  the  place.  The  hour  was  early  for  the 
Capital.  I  understood  the  reason.  Though  early  and  prompt,  I  found  the 
hosts  waiting  and  Schenck  a  little  grim.  The  door  already  had  a  crowd  of 
common  folk  impatiently  waiting  its  opening.  Among  the  guests  I  found  the 
elder  of  Senator  Wade's  sons,  a  captain  of  cavalry,  and  Judge  Newton,  a 
distinguished  man,  and  the  meal  proceeded  at  once,  and  rapidly.  The  half 
mob  inside  the  house  had  crowded  the  stairs  and  were  soon  in  close  siege  of 
the  breakfast-room  door.  The  clamor  and  noise  disturbed  the  senior  general. 
Garfield  had  a  second  guard  placed  at  the  door.  The  noise  increased.  The 
brow  of  the  crippled  general  darkened.  He  beckoned  his  valet  and  ordered 
him  in  the  voice  of  the  battle-field  to  "  Tell  them  by  G — d  that  the  animals 
are  feeding,  and  dangerous "  ; — with  the  emphasis  of  his  fist  on  the  table, 
which  caused  every  article  on  it  to  leap  an  inch  from  its  surface.  It  was  not 
necessary  to  repeat  the  order. 


254  RECOLLECTIONS   OF    WAR    TIMES.  [1863- 

that  long  sheltered  Professor  Morse  ;  on  the  other  the 
former  residence  of  Dr.  Bailey  of  The  National  E^a*  Op 
posite  were  the  old-time  residences  of  Daniel  Webster  and 
of  Lewis  Cass.  Schenck's  and  Garfield's  house  was  then' 
a  second  army  headquarters,  where  might  at  one  time  and 
another  be  met  numbers  of  the  distinguished  generals  of 
the  army  ;  also  the  inventors  of  new  arms  and  projectiles, 
the  devisers  of  schemes  to  end  the  war,  and  similar  un 
appreciated  geniuses. 

The  defects  of  the  first  draft  law  have  been  mentioned  : 
under  it  the  draft  of  three  hundred  thousand  yielded  to 
the  service  but  twelve  thousand.  A  new  bill,  prepared 
by  our  generals,  was  reported,  and  was  debated  six  weeks  ; 
then  came  a  motion  to  strike  out  the  first  section.  In  a 
shot-and-shell  five-minutes'  speech,  Garfield  declared  that 
the  man  who  voted  for  the  proposition  did  not  want  the 
rebellion  to  be  subdued.  The  motion  nevertheless  pre 
vailed  by  one  hundred  to  fifty. 

The  next  day,  the  President  went  to  the  committee- 
room  and  had  an  interview  with  the  Republican  members. 
With  a  sad,  mysterious  light  in  his  melancholy  eyes,  as  if 
they  were  familiar  with  things  hidden  from  mortals,  and 
the  grand  pathos  of  his  voice  and  manner,  he  stated  the 
position  of  things  at  that  time,  the  last  of  June.  Three 
hundred  and  eighty  thousand  Union  soldiers  then  in  the 
field  would  return  home  by  the  ensuing  October.  Under 
the  existing  law,  a  draft  of  one  million  of  men  would  be 
required  to  give  fifty  thousand  to  the  army.  If  the  de 
parting  soldiers  could  not  be  replaced,  Grant  could  not 
maintain  himself  before  Richmond,  and  Sherman  must 
retire  from  before  Atlanta.  He  was  answered  :  "  It  is  on 
the  eve  of  the  election.  Our  places  in  the  House  depend 
on  that.  The  President's  own  election  is  involved  ;  all 
depends  on  these  two."  Drawing  himself  up  in  his  seat, 
he  answered  :  "  I  have  thought  that  all  over  ;  my  election 


1864]  THE  jSTIf  CONGRESS. 

is  not  necessary ;  I  must  put  down  the  rebellion  ;  I  must 
have  five  hundred  thousand  more  men." 

A  substitute  for  the  decapitated  bill  was  at  once  intro 
duced,  and  the  war  over  it  flashed  up  anew.  On  the  25th 
of  June,  General  Garfield  delivered  a  masterly  and  ex 
haustive  speech  in  its  favor.  The  bill  was  passed.  The 
President  issued  his  proclamation  for  three  hundred  thou 
sand  men,  and  the  people  responded : 

"  We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 
Three  hundred  thousand  more." 

A  new  inspiration  and  fresh  life  restored  the  strength  and 
courage  of  the  North. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
DISLOYALTY  IN  THE  HOUSE. 

APRIL,    1863. 

Garfield's   Answer — Colfax    Moves   Long's  Expulsion — Democrats  Sustain 
Long — He  is  Censured  by  the  House — A  Reminiscence  of  Long  (note). 

A  GENERAL  theme  of  conversation  among  men  inter 
ested  in  Congressional  debates  and  business,  was  as  I 
found  on  my  return  to  the  Capital,  a  treasonable  speech 
recently  delivered  by  Alexander  Long,1  of  Ohio,  and  Gar- 
field's  instant  reply.  In  February,  Long  brought  forward 
a  joint  resolution  in  the  House  for  the  appointment  of 
Franklin  Pierce,  Millard  Fillmore,  Thomas  Ewing,  and 
others,  as  commissioners,  to  meet  a  commission  of  the 
rebels,  to  patch  up  a  peace  and  to  patch  a  piece  upon  the 
Constitution.  The  proposition  was  rejected,  without  de 
bate,  by  a  vote  of  twenty-two  to  ninety-six.  On  the  8th 
of  April,  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  President's 
Message,  Long  made  the  most  studied  and  elaborate 

1  Long  was  in  the  Ohio  Legislature  of  1848-49,  when  his  party  attempted 
to  steal  the  House,  by  breaking  into  the  old  State  House  before  daylight, 
and  trying  to  organize.  The  Whigs  went  in  later,  and  organized  on  their 
side  of  the  hall.  The  constant  Democratic  session  of  the  next  three  weeks 
created  a  perfect  pandemonium.  When  Long,  from  Mill  Creek,  brought 
forward  his  great  sanitary  plan,  the  hall  had  to  be  kept  in  order  by  the 
members,  two  to  be  detailed  each  morning.  Ball,  of  Muskingum,  dedi 
cated  Long  and  his  scheme  to  ridicule.  Long  was  youthful,  had  a  girlish 
face,  and  wore  a  profusion  of  ringlets  ;  of  course  he  became  "  Miss  Lucy 
Long." 

256 


April  1863]          DISLOYALTY  IN  THE  HOUSE. 

treasonable  speech  of  the  war.  He  was  no  longer  "  Miss 
Lucy  Long."  The  speech  will  always  remain  a  curiosity, 
if  not  a  monument.  He  had  a  singular  misunderstanding 
of  the  attempt  which  had  been  made  in  April,  1861,  to 
aid  Fort  Sumter.  According  to  him,  the  pretended  suc 
cor  was  dispatched  by  a  conspiracy  of  certain  governors 
of  the  North,  who  had  rightly  forecasted  that  the  result 
of  such  a  measure  would  be  the  bombardment  of  Sumter. 
When  the  dispatch  announcing  that  result  to  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  read  to  him,  he  exclaimed :  "  I  knew  they  would  do 
it !  "  which,  to  the  orator's  mind,  was  conclusive  that  this 
was  the  purpose  of  the  expedition.  He  followed  this  by 
a  carefully  prepared  resumt  of  the  disasters  to  the  Union 
cause  of  the  three  years  of  war.  Here  is  a  passage : 

"  If  Mr.  Lincoln  had  made  a  gift  of  millions  of  greenbacks  to  Jefferson 
Davis,  to  be  used  as  bounty  money  in  recruiting  the  Confederate  Army,  he 
could  not  have  done  better  service  to  the  cause  of  the  South  than  he  has 
done  by  his  silly,  absurd,  and  insulting  amnesty  proclamation,1  and  his 
equally  absurd  attempt  to  create  State  governments  by  dictatorial  power." 

The  leading  measures  of  the  war  were  enumerated,  and 
each  stigmatized  as  foolish,  absurd,  fraudulent,  criminal, 
flagitious,  and  all  as  unwise,  giving,  he  asserted,  the  right 
to  the  States  to  secede,  and,  of  course,  it  was  criminal  to 
attempt  by  war  to  compel  their  return. 

"  The  Union  is  lost,  never  to  be  restored.  ...  I  see,  neither  North 
nor  South,  any  sentiment  on  which  it  is  possible  to  build  a  Union.  .  .  . 
In  attempting  to  preserve  our  jurisdiction  over  the  Southern  States,  we  have 
lost  our  constitutional  form  of  government  over  the  Northern.  ...  In 
striving  to  retain  the  casket  of  liberty  in  which  our  jewels  were  confined,  we 
have  lost  those  precious  muniments  of  freedom.  .  .  .  There  is  not  a 
vestige  of  the  Constitution  remaining.  ...  No  peace  is  attainable  upon 
the  basis  of  union  and  reconstruction." 

He  had  no  interest  in  the  question  as  to  how  the  war 
should  be  conducted.  He  did  not  want  the  Democracy 
to  be  in  any  way  responsible  for  the  war. 

1  Of  December  8,  1863,  United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  pp.  737~9- 


258  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.       [April1863 

"  I  say  further,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  if  this  war  is  to  be  still  further  prose 
cuted,  I,  for  one,  prefer  that  it  shall  be  done  under  the  auspices  of  those 
now  conducting  its  management,  as  I  do  not  want  the  party  with  which  I 
am  connected  to  be  in  any  degree  responsible  for  its  result,  which  cannot 
be  otherwise  than  disastrous  and  suicidal ;  let  the  responsibility  remain 
where  it  is,  until  we  can  have  a  change  of  policy  instead  of  men,  if  such  a 
thing  is  possible.  Nothing  could  be  more  fatal  for  the  Democratic  party 
than  to  seek  to  come  into  power  pledged  to  a  continuance  of  the  war  policy. 
Such  a  policy  would  be  a  libel  upon  its  creed  in  the  past  and  the  ideas  that 
lay  at  the  basis  of  all  free  government,  and  would  lead  to  its  complete  de 
moralization  and  ruin.  I  believe  the  masses  of  the  Democratic  party  are 
for  peace,  that  they  would  be  placed  in  a  false  position  if  they  should  nom 
inate  a  war  candidate  for  the  Presidency  and  seek  to  make  the  issue  upon 
the  narrow  basis  of  how  the  war  should  be  prosecuted. 

"  For  my  own  part,  as  I  have  already  indicated,  I  fear  that  our  old  gov 
ernment  cannot  be  preserved,  even  under  the  best  auspices  and  with  any 
policy  that  may  be  now  adopted,  yet  1  desire  to  see  the  Democratic  party, 
with  which  I  have  always  been  connected,  preserve  its  consistency  and  re 
publican  character  unshaken." 

Mr.  Garfield  replied  : 

*'  Mr.  Chairman,  I  should  be  obliged  to  you  if  you  would  direct  the 
Sergeant-at-Arms  to  bring  a  white  flag  and  plant  it  in  the  aisle  between 
myself  and  my  colleague  who  has  just  addressed  you. 

"  I  recollect  on  one  occasion  when  two  great  armies  stood  face  to  face, 
that  under  a  white  flag  just  planted  I  approached  a  company  of  men  dressed 
in  the  uniform  of  the  Confederacy,  and  reached  out  my  hand  to  one  of  the 
number  and  told  him  I  respected  him  as  a  brave  man.  Though  he  wore 
the  emblems  of  disloyalty  and  treason,  still  underneath  his  vestments  I  be 
held  a  brave  and  honest  soul. 

"  I  would  reproduce  that  scene  here  this  afternoon.  I  say,  -were  there 
such  a  flag  of  truce — but  God  forgive  me  if  I  should  do  it  under  any  other 
circumstances  ! — I  would  reach  out  this  right  hand  and  ask  that  gentleman 
to  take  it ;  because  I  honor  his  bravery  and  his  honesty.  I  believe  what  has 
just  fallen  from  his  lips  is  the  honest  sentiment  of  his  heart,  and  in  uttering 
it  he  has  made  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  this  war  ;  he  has  done  a  new 
thing  under  the  sun  ;  he  has  done  a  brave  thing.  It  is  braver  than  to  face 
cannon  and  musketry,  and  I  honor  him  for  his  candor  and  frankness. 

"  But  now  I  ask  you  to  take  away  the  flag  of  truce  ;  and  I  will  go  back 
inside  the  Union  lines,  and  speak  of  what  he  has  done.  I  am  reminded  by 
it  of  a  distinguished  character  in  Paradise  Lost.  When  he  had  rebelled 
against  the  glory  of  God  and  '  led  away  a  third  part  of  heaven's  sons,  con 
jured  against  the  Highest,'  when  after  terrible  battles  in  which  mountains 
and  hills  were  hurled  by  each  contending  host  '  with 'jaculations  dire'; 


ApriM863]          DISLOYALTY  IN  THE   HOUSE. 


when  at  last  the  leader  and  his  hosts  were  hurled  down  '  nine  times  the 
space  that  measures  day  and  night,'  and  after  that  terrible  fall  lay  stretched 
prone  on  the  burning  lake,  Satan  lifted  up  his  shattered  bulk,  crossed  the 
abyss,  looked  down  into  Paradise,  and,  soliloquizing,  said  : 

"  'Which  way  I  fly  is  hell ;  myself  am  hell.' 

"  It  seems  to  me  in  that  utterance  he  expressed  the  very  sentiment  to 
which  you  have  just  listened  ;  uttered  by  one  no  less  brave,  malign,  and 
fallen.  This  man  gathers  up  the  meaning  of  this  great  contest,  the  philoso 
phy  of  the  moment,  the  prophecies  of  the  hour,  and,  in  sight  of  the  paradise 
of  victory  and  peace,  utters  them  all  in  this  wail  of  terrible  despair, '  Which 
way  I  fly  is  hell.'  He  ought  to  add,  '  Myself  am  hell.' 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  reminded  of  two  characters  in  the  war  of  the 
Revolution  as  compared  with  two  others  in  the  war  of  to-day. 

"  The  first  was  Lord  Fairfax,  who  dwelt  near  the  Potomac,  a  few  miles 
from  us.  When  the  great  contest  was  opened  between  the  mother  country 
and  the  colonies,  Lord  Fairfax,  after  a  protracted  struggle  with  his  own 
heart,  decided  that  he  must  go  with  the  mother  country.  He  gathered  his 
mantle  about  him  and  went  over  grandly,  solemnly,  and  impressively,  and 
joined  the  fortunes  of  Great  Britain  against  the  home  of  his  adoption. 

"But  there  was  another  man  who  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  struggling 
colonies,  and  continued  in  their  behalf  till  the  war  was  wellnigh  ended. 
But  in  a  day  of  darkness,  which  just  preceded  the  glory  of  the  morning,  that 
other  man,  deep  down  in  the  damned  pits  of  his  black  heart,  hatched  the 
treason  to  surrender  forever  all  that  had  been  gained,  to  the  enemies  of  his 
country.  Benedict  Arnold  was  that  man. 

"  Fairfax  and  Arnold  find  their  parallel  in  the  struggle  of  to-day. 

"  When  this  war  began,  many  good  men  stood  hesitating  and  doubting 
what  they  ought  to  do.  Their  doctrine  of  State  rights,  their  sympathies, 
all  they  had  ever  loved  and  longed  for,  were  in  the  South,  and  after  long 
and  painful  hesitation  some  of  them  at  last  went  with  the  enemies  of  the 
nation. 

"  At  that  time  Robert  E.  Lee  sat  in  his  home  across  the  river  here, 
doubting  and  delaying,  and  went  off  at  last  almost  tearfully  to  join  the 
enemies  of  his  country.  He  reminds  me  in  some  respects  of  Lord  Fairfax, 
the  stately  royalist  of  the  Revolution. 

"  But  now,  when  hundreds  of  thousands  of  brave  souls  have  gone  up  to 
God  under  the  shadow  of  the  flag,  and  when  thousands  more,  maimed  and 
shattered  in  the  contest,  are  sadly  awaiting  the  deliverance  of  death  ;  now, 
when  three  years  of  terrific  warfare  have  raged  over  us,  when  our 
armies  have  pushed  the  rebellion  back  over  mountains  and  rivers  and 
crowded  it  into  narrow  limits,  until  a  wall  of  fire  girds  it ;  now,  when  the 
uplifted  hand  of  a  majestic  people  is  about  to  let  fall  the  lightning  of  its 
conquering  power  upon  the  rebellion  ;  now,  in  the  quiet  of  this  hall,  hatched 


260  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.      [April  1863 

in  the  lowest  depths  of  a  dark  treason,  there  rises  a  Benedict  Arnold  and 
proposes  to  surrender  us  all  up,  body  and  spirit,  the  nation  and  the  flag,  its 
genius  and  its  honor,  now  and  forever,  to  the  accursed  traitors  to  our  coun 
try.  And  that  proposition  comes — God  forgive  and  pity  my  beloved  State  ! — 
it  comes  from  a  citizen  of  the  honored  and  loyal  Commonwealth  of  Ohio. 

"  I  implore  you,  brethren  in  this  House,  not  to  believe  that  many  such 
births  ever  gave  pangs  to  my  mother  State  such  as  she  suffered  when  that 
traitor  was  born.  [Suppressed  applause  and  sensation .]  I  beg  you  not  to 
believe  that  on  the  soil  of  that  State  another  such  growth  has  ever  deformed 
the  face  of  nature  and  darkened  the  light  of  God's  day.  [An  audible 
whisper,  "  Vallandigham"~\  But  ah  !  I  am  reminded  that  there  are  other 
such.  My  zeal  and  love  for  Ohio  have  carried  me  too  far.  I  retract.  I 
remember  that  only  a  few  days  since  a  political  convention  met  at  the  capital 
of  my  State,  and  almost  decided  to  select  from  just  such  material  a  Repre 
sentative  for  the  Democratic  party  in  the  coming  contest ;  and  to-day,  what 
claim  to  be  a  majority  of  the  Democracy  of  that  State  say  that  they  have 
been  cheated  or  they  would  have  made  that  choice.  I  therefore  sadly  take 
back  the  boast  I  first  uttered  in  behalf  of  my  native  State. 

*'  But,  sir,  I  will  forget  states.  We  have  something  greater  than  states 
and  state  pride  to  talk  of  here  to-day.  All  personal  or  state  feeling  aside, 
I  ask  you  what  is  the  proposition  which  the  enemy  of  his  country  has  just 
made  ?  What  is  it  ? 

"  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  this  contest  it  is  proposed  in  this  hall 
to  give  up  the  struggle,  to  abandon  the  war,  and  let  treason  run  riot  through 
the  land  !  I  will,  if  I  can,  dismiss  feeling  from  my  heart,  and  try  to  con 
sider  only  what  bears  upon  the  logic  of  the  speech  to  which  we  have  just 
listened.  .  .  . 

"  Suppose  the  policy  of  the  gentleman  were  adopted  to-day.  Let  the 
order  go  forth  ;  sound  the  '  recall '  on  your  bugles,  and  let  it  ring  from 
Texas  to  the  far  Atlantic,  and  tell  the  armies  to  come  back.  Call  the  vic 
torious  legions  back  over  the  battle-fields  forever  now  disgraced.  Call  them 
back  over  the  territory  which  they  have  conquered.  Call  them  back  and 
let  the  minions  of  secession  chase  them  with  derision  and  jeers  as  they  come. 
And  then  tell  them  that  that  man  across  the  aisle,  from  the  free  State  of 
Ohio,  gave  birth  to  the  monstrous  proposition. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  if  such  a  word  should  be  sent  forth  through  the  armies  of 
the  Union,  the  wave  of  terrible  vengeance  that  would  sweep  back  over  this 
land  could  never  find  a  parallel  in  the  records  of  history.  Almost  in  the 
moment  of  final  victory  the  recall  is  sounded  by  a  craven  people  not 
deserving  freedom  !  We  ought  every  man  to  be  made  a  slave  should  we 
sanction  such  a  sentiment.  .  .  . 

"  I  remember  to  have  stood  in  a  line  of  nineteen  men  from  Ohio  on  that 
carpet  yonder  on  the  first  day  of  the  session,  and  I  remember  that  with  up 
lifted  hands  before  Almighty  God  those  nineteen  took  an  oath  to  support 
and  maintain  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  And  I  remember  that 


Apr! 1 1863]         DISLOYALTY  IN  THE  HOUSE.  261 

another  oath  was  passed  around,  and  each  member  signed  it  as  provided  by 
law,  utterly  repudiating  the  rebellion  and  its  pretenses.  Does  the  gentle 
man  not  blush  to  speak  of  Galileo's  oath  ?  Was  not  his  own  its  counter 
part  ? 

"He  says  the  Union  can  never  be  restored  because  of  the  terrible  hatred 
engendered  by  the  war.  To  prove  it  he  quotes  what  some  southern  man 
said  a  few  years  ago,  that  he  knew  no  hatred  between  peoples  in  the  world 
like  that  between  the  North  and  the  South.  And  yet  that  North  and  South 
have  been  one  nation  for  eighty-eight  years  !  .  .  . 

"  I  said  a  little  while  ago  that  I  accepted  the  proposition  of  the  gentle 
man  that  the  rebels  had  the  right  of  revolution  ;  and  the  decisive  issue 
between  us  and  the  rebellion  is,  whether  they  shall  revolutionize  and  destroy 
or  we  shall  subdue  and  preserve.  We  take  the  latter  ground.  We  take 
the  common  weapons  of  war  to  meet  them  ;  and  if  these  be  not  sufficient, 
I  would  take  any  element  which  will  overwhelm  and  destroy  ;  I  would 
sacrifice  the  dearest  and  best  beloved  ;  I  would  take  all  the  old  sanctions  of 
law  and  the  Constitution  and  fling  them  to  the  winds,  if  necessary,  rather 
than  let  the  nation  be  broken  in  pieces  and  its  people  destroyed  with  endless 
ruin. 

"What  is  the  Constitution  that  these  gentlemen  are  perpetually  flinging 
in  our  faces  whenever  we  desire  to  strike  hard  blows  against  the  rebellion  ? 
It  is  the  production  of  the  American  people.  They  made  it,  and  the  creator 
is  mightier  than  the  creature.  The  power  which  made  the  Constitution  can 
also  make  other  instruments  to  do  its  great  work  in  the  day  of  its  dire 
necessity.  .  .  . 

"lam  reminded  here  of  a  fact  which  I  had  wellnigh  forgotten.  Last 
summer,  I  remember,  a  Union  spy  came  to  our  camp  bringing  two  letters 
addressed  to  '  Major-General  John  C.  Breckinridge,  C.  S.  A.'  They  were 
letters  of  introduction  stating  that  the  bearer  desired  to  obtain  a  commission 
in  the  rebel  army,  and  commending  him  as  a  gallant  and  reliable  man  whom 
Breckinridge  could  trust.  One  of  these  letters  was  signed  by  a  man  who 
lately  held  a  seat  in  this  House  !  "  [Cries  of  "  Name  him  !  "  from  the  Dem 
ocratic  side  of  the  House, ,] 

Mr.  GARFIELD. — "  I  will  produce  the  letter  in  due  time.  It  is  not  here 
with  me.  The  other  letter  was  from  an  associate  of  his,  prominent  in  the 
local  Democratic  politics  of  the  State  of  Indiana.  I  am  responsible  for  pro 
ducing  those  letters."  [Cries  of  "  Arame  !  "] 

Mr.  HOLMAN. — "  I  hope  the  gentleman  will  give  the  names  now." 

Mr.  GARFIELD. — "  When  I  produce  the  letters  any  further  testimony  that 
may  be  called  for  can  be  had  at  my  hands. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  let  me  mention  another  class  of  facts  in  this  same  con 
nection.  We  were  compelled  last  year  to  send  our  secret-service  men  to 
ferret  out  the  insidious  work  of  that  organization  known  as  the  '  Knights  of 
the  Golden  Circle,'  which  was  attempting  to  corrupt  the  army  and  destroy 
its  efficiency  ;  and  it  was  found  that  by  the  most  subtle  and  secret  means  the 


262  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [April  1863 

signs  and  passwords  of  that  order  were  being  made  known  to  such  men  in 
the  army  as  were  disaffected  or  could  be  corrupted.  Witness  also  the  riots 
and  murders  which  their  agents  are  committing  throughout  the  loyal  North, 
under  the  lead  and  guidance  of  the  party  whose  Representatives  sit  yonder 
across  the  aisle  ;  and  now,  just  as  the  time  is  coming  on  when  we  are  to 
select  a  President  for  the  next  four  years,  it  throws  up  the  blue  light  which 
will  be  seen  and  rejoiced  over  at  the  rebel  capital  in  Richmond  as  the  signal 
that  the  traitors  in  our  camp  are  organized  and  ready  for  their  hellish  work. 
I  believe  the  utterance  of  to-day  is  the  uplifted  banner  of  revolt.  I  ask  you 
to  mark  the  signal  that  blazes  here,  and  see  if  there  will  not  soon  appear  the 
answering  signals  of  traitors  all  over  the  land.  If  I  am  wrong  in  this  pre 
diction  I  shall  be  thankful,  but  I  am  only  too  fearful  of  its  truth. 

44  Let  me  say  in  conclusion,  if  these  men  do  mean  to  light  the  torch  of  war 
in  all  our  homes  ;  if  they  have  resolved  to  begin  the  fearful  work  which  will 
redden  our  streets  and  this  Capitol  with  blood,  the  American  people  should 
know  it  at  once  and  prepare  to  meet  it." 

Mr.  Long  rejoined.  On  the  next  day  Speaker  Colfax 
offered  the  following,  with  a  preamble : 

14  Resolved,  That  Alexander  Long,  a  Representative  from  the  Second  Dis 
trict  of  Ohio,  having  on  the  8th  of  April,  1864,  declared  himself  in  favor  of 
recognizing  the  independence  and  nationality  of  the  so-called  Confederacy 
now  in  arms  against  the  Union,  and  thereby  '  given  aid,  countenance,  and 
encouragement  to  persons  engaged  in  armed  hostility  to  the  United  States,' 
is  hereby  expelled." 

After  a  long  and  very  able  debate — Mr.  Colfax  having 
accepted  an  amendment  changing  "  expulsion  "  to  "  cen 
sure,"  because,  as  he  said,  no  Democrat  would  vote  for 
expulsion, — a  vote  was  reached  on  the  I4th,  on  the  reso 
lution  as  amended.  A  division  being  demanded,  the  first 
proposition  was,  as  follows, 

44  Resolved,  That  said  Alexander  Long,  a  Representative  from  the  Second 
District  of  Ohio,  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  declared  to  be  an  unworthy  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives," 

was  adopted  by  a  party  vote,  eighty  for,  sixty-nine 
against  it. 

The  second  resolution  was  as  follows  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Speaker  shall  read  the  resolutions  to  the  said  Alex 
ander  Long  during  the  session  of  the  House." 


ApriM863]          DISLOYALTY  IN  THE  HOUSE.  263 

Mr.  Colfax  offered  to  withdraw  it.  The  Democrats  ob 
jected,  and  Mr.  Holman  moved  to  lay  it  on  the  table, 
which  motion  prevailed  by  a  vote  of  seventy-one  to  sixty- 
nine. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  Democrats,  to  a  man,  sustained 
Long,  nor  did  any  in  debate  condemn  his  utterances. 
How  will  they  appear  on  the  final  page  of  history  ? 

And  here  I  take  leave  of  the  Congressional  Globe,  with  a 
moderately  firm  purpose  of  not  serving  even  the  daintiest 
slip  of  it  to  a  reader  again.  /  am  not  without  cause  of 
fear  that  the  inflated  /,  from  which  /  have  already  liber 
ally  drawn,  will  be  hardly  more  to  his  taste,  yet  from  that 
stand  I  shall  hereafter  address  him,  dealing  with  some  of 
the  more  conspicuous  civilians  of  the  Cabinet  and  Capital, 
with  whom  my  profession  brought  me  often  into  personal 
and  sometimes  confidential  relations. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
FRANK  BLAIR'S  LAST  SPEECH. 

FEBRUARY,  1864. 

The  Blairs — Commercial  Intercourse  with  the  Seceded  States  Authorized  by 
Congress — Regulations  of — Frank  Blair  Charges  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  with  Corrupt  Acts  under  These  Regulations — Chase  Told  that 
the  President  was  a  Party  to  the  Attack — Achillian  Rage  of  the  Secre 
tary — Mr.  Riddle's  Interview  with  Mr.  Chase — An  Interview  with  the 
President  Arranged. 

IT  will  be  remembered  that  on  the  floor  of  the  House 
I  had  criticised  the  policy  of  the  President  in  my  remarks 
of  January  27,  1862,  but  that  in  my  last  utterance  of 
February  28,  1863,  I  did  him  ample  justice.  Something 
of  my  relations  with  Mr.  Chase  have  already  found  men 
tion.  It  was  my  fortune  to  be  of  service  to  both  these 
great  men  at  a  sharp  crisis  in  their  relations,  a  crisis  which 
involved  in  a  very  grave  manner  the  welfare  of  the 
Republic. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  by  the  5th  Section  of  the 
Act  of  July  13,  1860,  the  President  was  authorized  to 
license  commercial  intercourse  with  any  section  of  the  in 
surrectionary  States  at  his  discretion,  the  rules  and  regu 
lations  for  which  were  to  be  prescribed  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  Mr.  Chase,  with  great  care,  prepared  a 
draft  of  regulations,  and  submitted  it  to  the  President  and 
a  full  Cabinet,  where  it  was  discussed,  amended,  and 

264 


Feb.  18641         FRANK  BLAIR'S  LAST  SPEECH.  26$ 

finally  adopted,  in  fact,  the  regulations  thus  became  the 
act  of  the  President  and  Cabinet. 

Doubtless  the  President's  license  was  sometimes  used 
as  a  pretence,  and  covered  some  mischief. 

Very  early,  the  relations  between  Montgomery  Blair, 
Postmaster-General,  and  Mr.  Chase,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  became  strained,  and  there  was  little  intercourse 
between  them  outside  of  the  President's  counsel  chamber. 
Blair  was  also  on  bad  terms  with  Secretary  Stanton. 
Frank  Blair  shared  his  elder  brother's  sentiments  regard 
ing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  He  was  at  the  front 
in  command  of  a  division  in  the  southwest,  and  saw  and 
heard  something  of  the  workings  of  the  scheme  of  inter 
course  with  the  enemy,  which  appeared  to  him  as  if  de 
vised  for  corrupt  purposes.  In  the  campaign  of  1862,  in 
which  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  House,  he  brought  this 
matter  prominently  before  the  public,  and  made  state 
ments  reflecting  unfavorably  upon  Mr.  Chase,  personally 
and  officially.  It  will  be  remembered  that  on  his  arrival 
at  the  capital,  the  President  made  an  arrangement  by  which, 
when  he  could  be  spared  from  the  House,  he  might  resume 
his  resigned  commission,  and  that  his  service  in  Congress 
should  be  no  detriment  to  his  position  in  the  Army. 

In  February,  1864,  certain  friends  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  and  other  Republicans — critics  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln, — almost  without  the  Secretary's  knowledge,  and 
certainly  without  his  suggestion,  placed  him  before  the 
country  as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency.  On  the  22d 
day  of  February,  Mr.  Chase  wrote  a  frank,  manly  letter 
to  the  President,  and  sent  with  it  his  resignation.  On  the 
29th  Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  a  characteristic  reply.  He  saw 
nothing  in  their  attitudes  to  each  other  nor  to  the  pend 
ing  Republican  convention,  that  need  in  the  least  embar 
rass  either  in  the  full  discharge  of  official  duty  to  the 
country,  and  expressed  a  frank  wish  that  he  should 
remain.  I  do  not  know  that  this  matter  rendered  their 


266  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        LFeb,  1864 

relations  in  the  least  unpleasant.  Mr.  Chase  was  really 
never  for  a  day  in  the  canvass  as  a  candidate,  and  did  not 
so  consider  himself.  He  knew  that  Mr.  Lincoln  well 
understood  Frank  Blair's  course  towards  him,  and  had, 
with  this  knowledge,  made  the  stipulation  for  return  to  the 
army  above  referred  to,  without  attempting  to  clear  the 
atmosphere  of  the  cloud  caused  by  his  attacks  if  such 
existed. 

I  remained  in  Washington,  at  Mr.  Seward's  request,  to 
perform  some  work  in  the  State  Department,  an  item  of 
which  was  to  write  a  reply  to  a  request  from  Congress, 
for  an  opinion  and  information  upon  a  section  in  the  Con 
sular  Bill,  then  pending,  as  to  the  necessity  or  expediency 
of  creating  a  sub-class  of  consular  employees,  to  be  known 
as  consular  clerks.  My  draft  of  a  letter  was  adopted 
without  change,  and  transmitted  with  no  addition  but  the 
signature  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  I  had  determined  to 
leave  Saturday  morning,  the  28th  of  April,  for  Cleveland. 
The  evening  before  I  was  invited  by  Mr.  Chase  to  go  with 
him  and  the  immediate  members  of  his  family  to  the 
opening  of  the  Sanitary  Fair  in  Baltimore  on  Saturday 
and  remain  until  the  ensuing  Tuesday.  I  accepted,  with 
the  understanding  that  I  must  return  to  Washington  on 
Sunday,  in  time  to  leave  for  Cleveland  that  Sunday  night. 
Mr.  Chase,  Mrs.  Sprague  and  her  sister,  were  to  go  to  the 
station  in  a  carriage.  General  Sprague  and  myself  were  to 
walk  from  the  Chase  mansion  on  the  corner  of  E  and  6th 
Streets.  I  went  that  morning  to  take  leave  of  the  Presi 
dent.  I  had  seen  him  but  once  before.  I  was  pained, 
almost  shocked,  by  the  change  in  his  looks  and  manner 
wrought  during  the  intervening  five  months.  He  looked 
like  a  man  worn  and  harassed  with  petty  faultfinding  and 
criticism,  until  he  had  turned  at  bay,  like  an  old  stag  pur 
sued  and  hunted  by  a  cowardly  rabble  of  men  and  dogs. 
He  received  me  as  if  he  hardly  knew  whether  he  had  not 
to  ward  off  a  baiting.  I  came  to  understand  something 


Feb.  1864]          FRANK  BLAIR'S  LAST  SPEECH.  267 

of  this  on  that  Saturday  forenoon  at  the  White  House. 
There  were  a  number  of  people  in  the  President's  ante 
room,  and  I  very  soon  found  that  the  President  himself 
was  undergoing  a  rude  roasting  at  the  hands  of  those  who 
were  waiting  for  admission  to  his  presence.  Even  my 
amiable  and  excellent  friend  Worcester,  spoke  ironically 
of  him  as  "  that  great  and  good  man."  The  one  most 
loud  and  bitter  was  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts. 
His  open  assaults  were  amazing.  I  withdrew  to  the  Presi 
dent's  desk  to  escape,  but  was  annoyed  by  it  even  there, 
and  I  turned  upon  the  Senator  in  indignant  surprise,  ask 
ing  why  he  did  not  assault  him  in  the  Senate, — get  a  seat 
in  the  June  convention,  instead  of  opening  on  him  in  the 
streets  and  in  the  lobbies  and  offices  of  the  Executive  man 
sion  itself.  He  conceded  what  I  asserted — that  the  entire 
North  stood  with  the  President  and  would  renominate 
him,  and  said  that,  "  bad  as  that  would  be,  the  best  must 
be  made  of  it."  "  Yes,  and  this  is  the  way  you  are  doing 
your  share  of  that  best  work,"  was  my  rejoinder. 

I  was  a  little  late  in  reaching  the  Chase  residence  in  the 
afternoon.  The  Secretary  and  his  daughters  had  left  for 
the  station,  and  Sprague  and  I  followed  them.1 

I  was  shown  to  Mr.  Chase's  presence  in  the  car  set  apart 
for  his  use.  He  was  alone,  and  in  a  frightful  rage,  and 
controlled  himself  with  difficulty  while  he  explained  the 
cause.  The  recital  in  a  hoarse,  constrained  voice,  seemed 
to  rekindle  his  anger  and  aggravate  its  intensity.  The 
spacious  car  fairly  trembled  under  his  feet. 

Frank  Blair  had  taken  the  floor  in  the  house  late  this 
same  afternoon  against  Mr.  Chase,  with  added  incidents 
and  Blairian  fervor  and  intensity,  had  then  gone  to  the 

1  I  never  could  get  on  with  the  Ex-Governor  of  Rhode  Island  ;  perhaps  I 
did  not  care  to.  We  walked  the  half-mile  to  the  station  side  by  side,  bent 
upon  the  same  purpose — a  pleasure  excursion  together — but  were  not  for  an 
instant  in  company.  We  reached  the  train  with  still  many  minutes  to  spare. 
On  our  approach  Mrs.  Sprague  left  the  group  about  the  sisters,  met  and  told 
me  that  her  father  was  in  the  resident's  car,  alone,  and  wished  to  see  me. 


268  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [Feb.  1864 

Executive  Mansion,  held  a  brief  interview  with  the  Presi 
dent  and  received  from  his  hands  his  old  commission,  with 
an  order  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  countersigned  by  Mr. 
Lincoln,  assigning  him  to  the  command  of  a  corps,  and 
then  had  left  Washington  for  the  front. 

All  this  was  told  to  the  Secretary  after  he  reached  the 
station,  and  with  added  circumstances  that  left  no  shade 
of  doubt  in  his  mind  but  that  all  this,  including  the  speech, 
had  been  done  with  the  cordial  approval  of  the  President, 
a  view  fully  shared  by  some  of  his  immediate  friends. 
Mr.  Chase  thought  of  remaining  in  the  city,  and  at  once 
tendering  his  resignation  to  the  President.  I  implored  him 
not  to  act  hastily,  and  said  that  next  week — after  a  better 
ascertainment  of  the  facts — he  would  be  able  to  act  in 
accordance  with  a  dignified  consideration  of  all  the  condi 
tions,  as  was  his  usual  rule. 

I  was  much  relieved  to  find  the  train  in  motion,  and 
mentally  made  up  my  course  of  action.  I  said  to  him  that 
it  was  impossible  that  the  President  could  have  been  a 
party  to  Blair's  assault  upon  him,  either  before  or  after  the 
act,  and  that  I  would  return  to  Washington  that  evening, 
seek  an  interview  with  the  President,  and  secure  his  per 
sonal  assurance  that  he  had  no  knowledge  of  this  last 
attack,  and  that  it  had  his  distinct  condemnation  ;  I  argued 
that  even  if  the  President  had  acquiesced  silently,  it  was 
purely  a  matter  between  him  (Mr.  Chase,)  and  Mr.  Blair, 
and  his  friends  could  hardly  justify  his  resignation  to  the 
country  simply  because  of  Mr.  Blair's  attack  ;  that  to  per 
mit  himself  to  be  driven  from  a  post  more  important  than 
the  command  of  the  armies  in  the  field,  by  a  speech  on  the 
floor  of  the  House,  would  fill  the  world  with  amazement. 

At  Baltimore,  I  saw  Mr.  Chase  and  the  rest  of  his  party, 
with  the  Committee  of  Reception,  enter  their  carriages ; 
and  returned  to  Washington  by  the  first  train. 

I  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  was  hard  pressed  by  the  many 
clamorous  demands  of  the  last  importance,  but  Mr. 


Feb.  1864] 


FRANK  BLAIR'S  LAST  SPEECH. 


269 


Nicolay,  to  whom  I  at  once  applied,  after  much  exertion 
arranged  an  interview  for  Monday  evening,  the  earliest 
hour  the  President  could  name.  I  had  to  be  content. 
Sunday  and  Monday  the  city  was  full  of  rumors  of  a  quar 
rel  between  the  President  and  the  Secretary,  with  all 
manner  of  censure  assigned  and  all  sorts  of  consequences 
predicted.  There  really  was  a  very  unpleasant  state  of 
feeling  among  thoughtful  men  of  both  parties,  the  old 
abolitionists  generally  were  in  a  rage. 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 
THE  DANGER  OF  THE  SITUATION. 

^FEBRUARY,  1864. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Speech — Mr.  Chase's  Candidacy — The  Blairs  Labor  to  Form 
an  Anti-Slavery  Party  in  Missouri. 

MY  successor  in  the  House,  R.  P.  Spalding,  the  personal 
and  confidential  friend  nearest  the  Secretary,  was  absent 
in  Ohio,  but  was  expected  back  on  Sunday  night.  He 
came  on  Monday.  I  had  an  interview  with  him,  and  heard 
that  he  had  met  Mr.  Chase  at  Baltimore  and  had  found 
him  in  a  very  unpleasant  state  of  mind. 

I  was  alarmed  by  the  fear  of  a  threatened  defection  of 
the  Chase  men  at  the  coming  convention,  and  more  partic 
ularly  in  the  campaign  and  at  the  polls.  It  was  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  every  possible  vote  should  be 
secured  for  Mr.  Lincoln.  To  me,  it  seemed  possible  that 
the  resignation  of  Mr.  Chase  for  reasons  reflecting  on  Mr. 
Lincoln,  might  defeat  him.  Mr.  Chase's  resignation  would 
be  made  to  appear  to  them  as  solely  due  to  the  President. 
Spalding  fully  adopted  my  views,  and  at  my  request  accom 
panied  me  to  meet  the  President,  toward  whom  he  had 
never  been  cordial,  though  he  was  never  among  his 
detractors. 

Mr.  Lincoln  received  us  politely  but  with  no  pretence 
of  cordiality.  After  brief  salutations  he  passed  around  to 

270 


Feb.  1864]      THE  DANGER  OF  THE  SITUATION.  2? I 

the  other  side  of  the  long  wide  table  and  sat  down  by  a 
bundle  of  papers,  grimly  awaiting  my  assault.1 

"  Mr.  President,"  I  said,  "  I  am  one  of  the  personal  and  political  friends 
of  Mr.  Chase,  who  believes  that  the  safety  of  the  Union  cause  requires  that 
you  should  be  unanimously  nominated  at  the  June  Convention,  and  should 
receive  in  November  the  eagerly  cast  ballot  of  every  man  devoted  to  our 
country.  It  is  this  conviction  which  brings  me  here  to  remove,  if  I  can,  a 
most  seriously  disturbing  cause  which  threatens  to  render  this  consummation 
impossible. 

4 'As  you  are  aware,  on  last  Saturday,  General  Frank  Blair,  a  Repub 
lican  representative  from  Missouri,  repeated  on  the  floor  of  the  House  his  at 
tack  of  the  early  part  of  the  session  upon  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and 
this  with  added  acrimony.  You  are  aware  of  the  unfortunate  occurrence  be 
tween  General  Blair  and  the  Executive,  in  reference  to  the  resumption  by  Mr. 
Blair  of  this  Government's  commission  and  his  assignment  to  one  of  the 
highest  commands  in  the  army,  and  you  are  also  aware  of  his  departure,  fol 
lowing  immediately  upon  the  close  of  the  speech.  These  events,  coinci 
dent  with  his  attack,  seemed  as  if  planned  for  dramatic  effect,  as  parts  of  a 
conspiracy  against  a  most  important  member  of  the  Cabinet  and  Administra 
tion.  The  always  alert,  jealous,  and  somewhat  exacting  abolitionists,  for 
getting  how  impossible  it  is  that  you  can  be  guilty  of  an  attack  upon  your 
Secretary — upon  your  own  administration,  believe  that  Blair  must  have  had 
at  least  your  countenance  in  this  wretched  business,  and  they  demand  the 
instant  resignation  of  Mr.  Chase.  It  is  only  by  the  strenuous  exertions  of 
one  or  two  persons  that  this  has  been  delayed. 

"  Mr.  President,  Mr.  Chase's  abrupt  resignation  now  would  be  equal  in 
its  effects  to  a  severe  set-back  of  the  army  under  Grant.  It  would  foretell 
the  defection  of  his  friends  at  Baltimore,  equal  in  effect  to  the  defeat  of  that 

1  Two  or  three  weeks  later,  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Chase,  requesting 
me  to  write  out  and  forward  to  him  a  verbatim  report  of  the  interview.  He 
said  Spalding  told  him  I  had  trained  myself  to  try  long  cases,  and  carry  all 
the  evidence  without  a  note.  Spalding  had  not  told  him  that  upon  the  com 
pletion  of  the  trial,  every  shred  of  the  evidence  and  generally  the  case,  had  a 
way  of  vanishing  from  my  memory.  This  interview  was  unusual  and  its 
details  were  remembered.  I  made  the  attempt  very  unsatisfactorily  to  myself. 
My  rough  draft  is  before  me,  and  helps  me  to  reproduce  the  substance  of  what 
was  said.  I  should  add  that  on  the  receipt  of  Mr.  Chase's  request,  I  wrote 
Mr.  Nicolay,  saying  I  would  comply  with  it  by  the  consent  of  the  President, 
who  might  regard  the  interview  as  confidential,  but  in  any  event  I  would 
transmit  it  for  his  examination  and  revision.  His  reply  was  that  the  President 
would  feel  obliged  if  I  would  meet  Mr.  Chase's  wish,  and  that  he  would  trust 
to  my  accuracy  in  the  report. 


2/2  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [Feb.  1864 

army  in  a  pitched  battle.  Their  defection  in  November  might  be  the 
destruction  of  our  cause. 

"  I  pray  you  remember  who  these  abolitionists  are.  They  are  the  first, 
the  oldest  anti-slavery  men — the  abolitionists  who  conquered,  foot  by  foot, 
the  pro-slavery  North,  and  who,  with  later  allies,  have  conducted  this 
great  struggle  to  the  issue  of  war — who  made  your  accession  to  power 
possible.  I  know  they  have  at  times  been  over-hasty.  Have  I  not  person 
ally  heard  their  demands  upon  you  and  your  answers?  They  were,  how 
ever,  the  first  to  leap  to  your  side,  and  who  have  pressed  most  closely  after 
you,  nay,  would  push  you  forward. 

"  Mr.  President,  I  am  not  the  emissary  of  these  men,  come  to  demand 
terms  ;  I  am  not  the  agent  of  Mr.  Chase.  I  have  said  to  them,  that  I  would 
return  to  them  your  word  that  you  were  in  no  way  a  party  to  or  responsible 
for  a  word  uttered  by  Mr.  Blair.  He  was  an  independent  representative  of 
his  constituency  and  spoke  for  them  and  himself,  and  could  no  more  be  dic 
tated  to  by  the  President  than  you  could  think  of  dictating  to  him  ;  and, 
having  spoken,  he  was  not  responsible  to  you  for  his  utterances. 

"  I  invited  Judge  Spalding  to  be  present,  to  hear  your  assurances,  and 
with  me  bear  them  to  our  waiting  friends." 

Spalding,  a  handsome  "  personable  "  man,  of  fine 
manner,  added  a  few  words  to  the  effect  that  he  coin 
cided  with  me  in  position  and  sentiment. 

I  had  addressed  the  President  standing,  as  had  Spalding. 
The  effect  was  marked  ;  he  arose,  came  round,  and  with 
great  cordiality  took  each  of  us  by  the  hand  and  evinced 
the  greatest  satisfaction  at  our  presence  and  the  senti 
ments  we  had  expressed.  Mr.  Lincoln  then  returned, 
took  up  his  papers  and  standing,  addressed  us  for  nearly 
half  an  hour.  He  spoke  in  his  best  manner,  as  if  before 
a  very  select  audience.  He  said— 

"  Gentlemen,  I  am  glad  to  meet  you,  glad  for  your  mission,  and  especially 
for  your  way  of  executing  it.  It  makes  my  statement  easier  than  I  expected. 
I  nevertheless  will  say  about  what  I  intended.  Your  frankness  and  cordial 
ity  shall  be  fully  responded  to." 

Taking  up  some  papers — "  Have  you  seen  my  letter  to  Mr.  Chase  of 
Feb.  2gth,  in  reply  to  his  of  the  22d,  concerning  his  candidacy,  and  offering 
his  resignation?" 

MR.  SPALDING — "I  have." 

MR.  RIDDLE — "  I  have  not." 

Mr.  Lincoln  read  it : 


Feb.  1864]      THE  DANGER   OF  THE   SITUATION.  2/3 

"  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  February  29,  1864. 

"  I  should  have  taken  time  to  answer  sooner  yours  of  the  22d,  but  that 
I  did  not  suppose  any  evil  could  result  from  the  delay,  especially  as,  by  a 
note,  I  promptly  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  yours,  and  promised  a  fuller 
answer.  Now,  on  consideration,  I  find  there  is  really  very  little  to  say.  My 
knowledge  of  Mr.  Pomeroy's  letter  !  having  been  made  public  came  to  me 
only  the  day  you  wrote  ;  but  I  had  in  spite  of  myself  known  of  its  exist 
ence  several  days  before.  I  have  not  yet  read  it,  and  I  think  I  shall  not.  I 
was  not  shocked  or  surprised  by  the  appearance  of  the  letter,  because  I 
had  had  knowledge  for  several  weeks  of  Mr.  Pomeroy's  committee,  of  the 
secret  issue  which  I  supposed  came  from  it,  and  of  secret  agents  who  I 
supposed  were  sent  out  by  it.  I  have  known  just  as  little  of  these  things 
as  my  friends  have  allowed  me  to  know.  They  bring  the  documents  to  me, 
but  I  do  not  read  them  ;  they  tell  me  what  they  think  fit  to  tell  me,  but  I 
do  not  inquire  for  more. 

"  I  fully  concur  with  you  that  neither  of  us  can  be  justly  held  responsible 
for  what  our  respective  friends  may  do  without  our  instigation  or  counte 
nance,  and  I  assttre  you,  as  you  have  assured  me,  that  no  assault  has  been 
made  upon  you  by  my  instigation,  or  with  my  countenance. 

"  Whether  you  shall  remain  at  the  head  of  the  Treasury  Department  is  a 
question  which  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  consider  from  any  standpoint  other 
than  my  judgment  of  the  public  service,  and  in  that  view  I  do  not  perceive 
occasion  for  change.  "  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN." 

MR.  LINCOLN. — "The  Blairs  are,  as  you  know,  strong,  tenacious  men, 
having  some  peculiarities,  among  them  the  energy  with  which  their  feuds 
are  carried  on." 

MR.  RIDDLE. — "  Yes,  Montgomery  says  that  when  the  Blairs  go  in  for  a 
fight  they  go  in  for  a  funeral." 

MR.  LINCOLN. — "  Exactly.  As  you  know,  they  labored  for  ten  years  to 
build  up  an  anti-slavery  party  in  Missouri,  and  in  an  action  of  ejectment  to 
recover  that  party  in  the  State,  they  could  prove  title  in  any  common  law 
court.  Frank  has  in  some  way  permitted  himself  to  be  put  in  a  false  posi 
tion.  He  is  in  danger  of  being  kicked  out  of  the  house  built  by  himself, 
and  by  a  set  of  men  rather  new  to  it.  You  know  that  they  contributed 
more  than  any  twenty  men  to  bring  forward  Fremont  in  1855.  I  know  that 
they  mainly  induced  me  to  make  him  a  Major-General  and  send  him  to 
Missouri." 

He  spoke  of  the  quarrel  between  Fremont  and  Frank 
Blair,  and  said  he  did  not  know  the  actual  facts  of  that 
matter. 

1  Mr.  Pomeroy  was  the  chairman  of  a  committee  of  Mr.  Chase's  friends, 
and  the  letter  referred  to  was  an  official  circular  of  his. 


274  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.         [Feb.  1864 

Mr.  Lincoln  added  that  before  the  meeting  of  Congress 
General  Schenck  had  an  interview  with  the  President  and 
Stanton  (Secretary  of  War),  and  he  gave  the  substance  of 
his  reply  to  the  House  on  the  subject.  After  stating  the 
arrangement  with  Frank  Blair  as  to  future  service,  and 
reading  his  letter  to  Montgomery  Blair,  he  said  that  the 
arrangement  had  been  made  without  reference  to  any  pos 
sible  question  of  law,  and  if  he  had  had  no  power  to  make 
it,  Frank  Blair  was  in  fact  no  Major-General.  Just  before 
Congress  assembled  General  Grant  had  assigned  Frank  to 
the  command  of  a  corps,  not  knowing  that  the  Secretary 
of  War  had  assigned  General  Logan  to  the  same  com 
mand.  Logan  found  the  army  engaged  in  the  brilliant 
movements  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  enemy  at 
Chattanooga,  and  he  generously  waived  his  claims  to  com 
mand  till  the  campaign  was  over,  and  being  thus  engaged, 
Frank  Blair  was  absent  from  the  organization  of  the 
House.  When  he  left  the  army  he  made  his  St.  Louis 
speech  attacking  Mr.  Chase,  of  which  the  President  spoke 
disapprovingly. 

Mr.  Lincoln  said  that,  on  Frank's  arrival  in  Washing- 
ington,  he  called  on  him  on  some  business,  and  that  as  he 
was  leaving,  he,  Frank,  said  that  he  wanted  to  make  a 
speech  in  the  House  on  the  Mississippi  Trade  Regulations, 
to  which  he,  Mr.  Lincoln,  replied  : 

"  If  you  will  do  the  subject  justice,  showing  fairly  the  workings  of  the 
regulations,  and  will  collect  and  present  all  the  information  on  the  subject, 
you  will  doubtless  render  a  service  to  the  country  and  do  yourself  much 
credit  ;  but  if  you  intend  to  make  it  the  occasion  of  pursuing  a  personal 
warfare,  you  had  better  remain  silent." 

The  President  used  stronger  expressions  than  I  can 
recall.  He  was  annoyed  and  mortified  by  the  speech. 
The  trade  regulations  themselves  were  revised  and 
arranged  in  Cabinet  council,  and  he  and  each  member 
of  the  Cabinet  was  as  much  responsible  as  was  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury.  The  speech  was  an  assault  on  the 


Feb.  1864]      THE  DANGER   OF  THE   SITUATION.  2/5 

Government,  and  when  it  assailed  Mr.  Chase  for  the  work 
ing  of  the  machinery  it  undoubtedly  did  him  injustice. 
He  had  never  been  called  upon  in  the  premises,  and  did 
not  know  that  he  could  interfere. 

Shortly  before  Frank  left  for  the  army,  he  called  and 
asked  that  the  arrangement  with  him  should  be  carried  out, 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  sent  an  order  to  the  War  Office  to  have 
the  order  of  his  restoration  made,  and  supposed  it  had  been 
done.  He  heard  no  more  of  it  till  about  noon  of  the  day 
on  which  Frank  made  the  last  of  that  series  of  speeches, 
when  he  called  on  him  and  said  he  must  leave  that  even 
ing,  and  that  the  all-important  order  had  not  been  made. 
The  President  then  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Adjutant- 
General,  who  replied  that  Mr.  Blair  was  not  known  in  the 
Department  as  an  officer  ;  whereupon  the  President  or 
dered  his  resignation  to  be  cancelled,  which  was  done. 

"  Within  three  hours,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  I  heard  that  this  speech  had 
been  made,  when  I  knew  that  another  beehive  was  kicked  over.  My  first 
thought  was  to  have  cancelled  the  orders  restoring  him  to  the  army  and 
assigning  him  to  command.  Perhaps  this  would  have  been  best.  On  such 
reflection  as  I  was  able  to  give  to  the  matter,  however,  I  concluded  to  let  them 
stand.  If  I  was  wrong  in  this,  the  injury  to  the  sen-ice  can  be  set  right. 

"  And  thus  you  see  how  far  I  am  responsible  for  Frank  Blair's  assaults  on 
Mr.  Chase." 

Mr.  Lincoln  appealed  several  times  to  proofs  of  his 
statements,  and  concluded  with  re-assertions  of  their 
accuracy. 

MR.  SPALDING. — "  Mr.  President,  spare  us  all  other  evidence.  We  only 
ask  your  word." 

MR.  RIDDLE. — "Your  word,  Mr.  President,  is  the  highest  human 
evidence." 

Mr.  Lincoln  also  spoke  of  Maryland  politics,  in  so  far 
as  this  was  essential  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  present 
position  of  men  and  things.  He  said  that  in  the  forma 
tion  of  his  Cabinet,  he  was  for  some  days  balancing  be 
tween  Montgomery  Blair  and  Henry  Winter  Davis,  and 


2/6  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES,         [Feb.  1864 

finally  settled  on  Mr.  Blair.  He  added  that  in  the  dispo 
sition  of  the  Maryland  patronage,  he  had,  as  far  as  possi 
ble,  met  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Davis.  Subsequently  he 
regarded  Mr.  Davis  as  holding  ground  not  the  most  favor 
able  to  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  Still  later,  that 
gentleman  made  a  speech  in  the  House  which  wholly  dis 
abused  his  mind,  and  he  was  greatly  rejoiced  to  find  his 
first  opinion  of  him  correct.  In  Mr.  Davis's  contest  for 
Congress,  he  had  rendered  him  all  the  aid  he  consistently 
could.  He  also  understood  that  Mr.  Chase  favored  Mr. 
Davis's  Union  opponent.  Since  that  election,  Mr.  Davis 
had  desired  some  aid  in  the  Maryland  Constitutional 
election,  which  he  could  not  see  his  way  to  afford  him, 
and  Mr.  Davis  had  become  very  cool  towards  him.  In 
fact,  the  President  believed  he  was  now  an  active  friend  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

At  the  close  of  his  statement  Mr.  Spalding  said  : 

*'  Mr.  President,  I  desire  to  know  whether  your  letter  to  Mr.  Chase,  just 
read  by  you,  expresses  your  present  views  and  wishes  in  reference  to  the 
continuance  of  Mr.  Chase  in  your  Cabinet  ?  " 

MR.  LINCOLN. — "  It  does  most  fully.  I  cannot  see  now,  as  I  could  not 
then,  how  the  public  service  could  be  advanced  by  his  retirement." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  fully  an  hour  in  making  his  statement 
—his  explanation,  as  he  called  it.  He  was  plain,  sincere, 
and  most  impressive. 

Mr.  Spalding  expressed  himself  as  perfectly  satisfied, 
and  was  sure  Mr.  Chase  and  his  friends  would  be  also.  I 
certainly  was. 

Mr.  Lincoln  expressed  great  satisfaction,  and  with  many 
cordial  expressions  we  withdrew.  The  interview  occupied 
nearly  two  hours. 

The  presence  of  Mr.  Spalding  was  fortunate.  Widely 
known,  and  trusted  by  Mr.  Chase  and  his  friends,  his  word 
and  influence  were  useful  in  smoothing  the  way  to  a  cor 
dial  unanimity  of  sentiment  in  support  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in 


Feb.  1864]      THE  DANGER   OF  THE   SITUATION.  277 

the  approaching  presidential  contest,  upon  which  so  much 
depended. 

The  two  days  of  enforced  stay  at  the  Capital  were  not 
without  use  in  another  respect.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the 
selection  of  a  prominent  friend  of  Mr.  Chase  to  preside  at 
the  coming  Baltimore  Convention  would  be  a  graceful 
appreciation  of  their  final  attitude  towards  Mr.  Lincoln. 
Ex-Governor  Denison,  so  unceremoniously  turned  down 
by  us  in  Ohio,  was  mentioned  as  suitable.  I  found  that 
the  leading  men  of  the  President's  managers  then  in 
Washington  cordially  accepted  the  first  proposition,  and 
would  leave  the  selection  to  us.  A  little  correspondence 
placed  Denison  in  an  eligible  position.  He  was  then  not 
very  widely  known  out  of  Ohio,  and  I  was  urged  to  be 
present  at  the  opening  of  the  Convention. 

Among  the  remarkable  men  about  the  capital  after  the 
second  year  of  the  war,  was  Judge  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  of 
York,  Pa.,  formerly  Chief  Justice  of  that  State,  and  later 
Mr.  Buchanan's  Attorney-General.  On  Mr.  Cass's  retire 
ment  he  became  Secretary  of  State.  It  was  by  his 
influence  that  Mr.  Stanton  succeeded  him  as  Attorney- 
General. 

Judge  Black  was  in  many  ways  the  intellectual  superior 
of  most  of  the  leading  men  of  his  party,  though  lacking 
the  qualities  that  make  a  successful  leader.  There  is  a 
tradition  that  when  his  father  was  about  to  make  a  very 
rare  visit  to  Philadelphia,  and  had  charged  himself  with 
the  individual  desires  of  each  of  the  older  members  of  the 
family,  he  came  to  the  youngest — a  dark,  slender  boy  of 
nine.  "  Jerry,  what  shall  I  bring  you  ?  "  said  he.  "  Please 
bring  me  Shakespeare's  Plays."  "  And  what  else,  my  son  ?  " 
"  Nothing — only  Shakespeare's  Plays."  I  came  to  know 
him  well.  A  man  of  wider  reading  and  study  in  unusual 
and  recondite  fields,  I  never  knew. 

He  was  at  home  upon  subjects  in  law,  art,  and  literature, 
that  were  but  meaningless  names  to  many  well-informed 


2/8  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.         [Feb.  1864 

men.  When  his  counsel  was  sought,  his  opinions  and 
advice  were  full  of  courage  and  audacity,  to  be  acted  upon 
by  the  most  courageous  only.  He  was  the  only  man  I 
ever  heard  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
who  felt  free  to  say  what  was  in  his  mind.  Passing  around 
in  front  of  the  tables  and  bending  his  tall  form  nearly  to 
the  Clerk's  desk,  with  his  splendid  head,  glowing  eyes, 
commanding  voice,  free  elocution  and  action,  he  was  in 
many  ways  the  best  advocate  of  my  time  at  that  bar, 
recalling  the  traditions  of  Webster,  Pinckney,  and  Wert. 
I  may  add  that  good  speaking  is  rare  at  that  bar,  and  for 
this  the  Court  is  largely  responsible.  That  Court  with  its 
gowns  and  glamor,  its  history  and  the  traditional  awe  that 
surrounds  it,  oppresses  the  average  man,  who  needs  to  have 
all  his  trained  resources  well  in  hand,  and  to  know  what  he 
is  to  say  and  how  he  will  say  it.  We  rarely  hear  any  really 
good  speaking  there  ;  all  our  courts  repress  fine  or  effective 
speech.  Dry,  humdrum,  commonplace  talk  is  now  in 
vogue  there,  as  everywhere. 

My  introduction  to  Judge  Black  was  unique.  During 
my  second  winter  at  Mrs.  Irving's,  he  with  Mrs.  Black,  his 
daughter  Mrs.  Shunck  and  her  husband,  were  there  for  a 
week  and  were  placed  opposite  me  at  the  table.  On  tak 
ing  my  place  on  our  first  day,  I  was  much  impressed  with 
the  head,  face,  and  broad  shoulders  of  a  man  who  was 
proceeding  with  a  monologue  begun  before  my  entrance. 
He  was  dealing  with  the  still  famous  Oberlin  slave  rescue 
case,  tried  in  the  Circuit  Court  at  Cleveland  in  the  summer 
of  1859.  I  had  been  the  leading  counsel  for  the  defence 
and  was  at  once  interested,  and  soon  was  advised  of  the 
narrator's  identity. 

He  rapidly  sketched  the  case.  A  slave  had  been  cap 
tured  at  his  refuge  in  Oberlin,  and  a  mob  of  the  leading 
men,  professors  of  the  college,  students,  black  and  white, 
pursued  the  fleeing  officers  ten  or  twelve  miles,  overtook 
them  and  rescued  the  slave,  whom  they  sent  to  a  freed- 


Feb.  1864]      THE  DANGER   OF  THE   SITUATION.  279 

man's  colony  in  Canada.  When  prosecuted,  the  twenty- 
three  men  refused  to  give  bail,  and  were  placed  in  the 
Cleveland  jail  pending  trial.  Two  were  convicted.  Their 
counsel  had  then  taken  the  record  with  the  order  of  com 
mitment  on  the  sentence  to  prison — had  secured  a  writ 
of  habeas  corpus,  returnable  before  the  full  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  demanded  their  discharge^ 
on  the  ground  of  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law.  It  was  supposed  that  a  majority  of  the  Court 
would  hold  that  the  Act  was  unconstitutional  and  void,  and 
would  order  the  convicted  to  be  set  at  large,  which  would 
liberate  all  the  rest.  The  situation  was  one  of  serious  and 
most  critical  danger.  Chase,  the  Governor  of  Ohio,  was 
a  most  determined  man,  who  would  sustain  the  decision 
of  the  Ohio  Court  with  the  strength  of  his  militia,  while 
he,  the  Attroney-General,  was  determined  to  enforce  the 
judgment  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States,  at  all 
hazards,  and  had  made  the  necessary  preparations.  The 
Judge's  loud  and  rapid  narrative  had  arrested  much  atten 
tion. 

"  Fortunately,"  he  went  on,  "  the  Ohio  Court  held  the  law  constitutional 
by  three  to  two." 

4 '  What  became  of  the  rest  of  the  causes?"  was  asked. 

"  There  came  in  the  master  stroke  of  the  defence  of  the  rescued,"  said 
Judge  Black,  "  Their  counsel  procured  an  indictment  of  the  Kentuckians, 
the  Deputy  Marshal,  and  every  man  concerned  in  the  capture  of  the  slave 
in  the  county  in  which  Oberlin  is  situated,  for  kidnapping,  under  a  severe 
law  of  that  State,  and  as  there  was  then  no  possible  way  for  the  indicted 
parties  to  prove  that  the  man  they  had  seized  was  really  a  slave,  they  were 
certain  of  being  convicted  before  an  abolition  jury,  and  sent  to  the  peniten 
tiary.  The  defendants  could  not  testify  for  themselves  nor  for  each  other. 
Then  the  counsel  of  the  Oberlin  rescuers  proposed  if  the  United  States 
would  discontinue — nolle  all  the  rest  of  its  cases  against  the  rescuers,  they 
would  nolle  the  cases  against  the  kidnappers,  and  really  we  had  to  accede  to 
that,  so  the  prosecution  came  to  an  inglorious  end." 

"  By  the  way,"  resumed  the  Judge,  after  the  little  buzz  caused  by  his 
story  had  subsided,  "  I  would  like  to  know  what  became  of  the  young 
lawyer  that  managed  that  defence.  Some  one  sent  me  an  argument  of  his 
in  a  famous  poisoning  case  in  Ohio,  as  well  as  his  speech  in  the  rescue  case, 
and  I  expected  to  hear  more  from  him." 


280  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [Feb.  1864 

44  I  am  happy  to  gratify  you,  Judge  Black,"  spoke  up  Dr.  Welling  (editor 
of  the  National  Intelligencer)  from  the  lower  end  of  the  table,  *4  he  is  now 
sitting  exactly  opposite  you.  Judge  Black,  Mr.  Riddle,  of  the  Cleveland 
district,  Ohio.  I  am  glad  to  name  you  to  each  other." 

There  ensued  a  rather  sharp  discussion  of  the  political 
aspects  of  that  famous  case  tried  in  1859.  After  the  very 
handsome  things  he  had  permitted  himself  to  say,  I  was 
easily  won  to  regard  him  most  favorably,  and  we  became 
pleasant  and  appreciative  acquaintances,  in  fact  friends. 

While  in  Cuba  I  received  a  long  letter  from  him,  a 
fool's-cap  sheet  full  (now  yellow  with  time),  inviting  me  to 
return  and  form  a  partnership  with  himself  and  his  son 
Chauncey,  at  Washington,  for  the  practice  of  law.  Of 
course  this  with  the  proposed  terms  was  flattering.  I  was 
not  averse  to  leaving  Cleveland. 

Early  in  June  I  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Fred  Seward, 
saying  (Mr.  Giddings  having  died)  that  the  Counsel-Gen 
eralship  of  Canada  was  to  be  disposed  of,  and  that  if  I 
felt  interested  in  it,  they  would  like  to  see  me  at  the  De 
partment.  I  made  ready  for  a  visit  to  the  Capital.  I  was 
also  due  at  the  Baltimore  Convention.  Somehow  I  had  a 
premonition  that  I  was  leaving  Ohio,  and  had  a  day  of 
inexpressible  sadness  as  I  mentally  bade  the  dear  old  State, 
its  old  homes,  kindred,  and  their  burial  places,  adieu. 

On  presenting  myself  at  the  State  Department,  I  found 
among  the  many  names  suggested  for  the  Quebec  position 
that  of  John  F.  Potter.  "  If  I  do  not  desire  the  post  will 
it  be  given  to  Mr.  Potter?  "  I  asked.  "  It  probably  will," 
was  the  reply.  "  Give  it  to  Mr.  Potter,"  said  I  ;  and  it 
was  given  to  him. 

I  sought  Judge  Black,  who  was  then  in  the  city,  and 
met  also  Mr.  Chauncey  Black,  whom  his  father  destined 
to  become  a  great  advocate.  He  certainly  did  not  lack 
ability.  Meantime,  Mr.  H.  L.  Stevens,  a  distinguished 
lawyer,  had  died,  leaving  two  or  three  juniors  and  a  large 
business,  and  the  survivors  applied  to  me  to  take  his 


Feb.  1864]      THE  DANGER   OF  THE  SITUATION.  28 1 

place.  Judge  Black  did  not  at  that  time  intend  to  change 
his  domicile  to  the  city,  and  we  concurred  that,  for  the 
present,  I  had  better  accept  the  offer  of  the  Stevens  firm. 
I  did,  and  found  myself  occupying  the  whole  of  the  third 
floor  of  the  Colonization  Building  on  the  avenue,  with  a 
fine  library  and  offices  well  furnished.  My  friend,  Chief 
Justice  Carter,  and  my  Congressional  associates,  Olin  and 
Fisher,  with  Wylie,  made  up  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
District,  then  in  session.  I  appeared  there,  was  admitted, 
and  the  thing  was  done. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

SUMMER  AT  THE   CAPITAL. 

MAY-JUNE,  1864. 
The  National  Convention — Mr.  Chase  Retires — The  War — The  People. 

THE  Republican  National  Convention,  which  was  held 
at  Baltimore  on  the  /th  of  June,  comprised  a  numerous, 
united,  and  enthusiastic  body  of  men.  On  the  evening 
of  the  6th  we  extemporized  a  reception  for  ex-Governor 
Denison,  on  which  occasion  I  officiated  as  usher.  My 
principal  was  in  good  form  and  made  a  good  impression. 
On  the  following  day  he  was  made  president  of  the  con 
vention,  and  in  due  time  Postmaster-General.  The  only 
thing  beyond  the  platform  was  the  Vice-Presidency.  The 
convention  was  enthusiastically  unanimous  for  Mr.  Lin 
coln,  nor  was  there  finally  any  opposition  to  Mr.  Johnson. 
It  was  understood  that  the  President  favored  Johnson, 
though  certain  I  am  that  he  made  no  open  declaration  of 
his  wishes,  nor  could  there  have  been  any  one  authorized 
to  speak  for  him.  Lincoln  would  never  permit  himself 
to  attempt  to  influence  the  convention.  The  truth  is,  we 
were  accustomed  during  the  war  to  turning  down  our  own 
men  for  democrats  who  were  not  so  good,  but  who  were 
better  than  the  majority  of  their  party.  I  had  become 
somewhat  an  admirer  of  Mr.  Johnson.  He  was  the  one 
Southern  senator  true  to  his  oath  of  allegiance.  I  saw 


'o 

282 


May-June  1864]      SUMMER  AT  THE   CAPITAL.  283 

him  daily  on  his  way  to  the  capitol.  He  was  usually 
alone,  always  well-dressed,  his  smooth  face,  crowned  with 
iron-gray  hair,  turned  toward  the  ground  as  if  in  sombre 
thought.  Silence  fell  on  groups  of  men  as  he  approached, 
and  as  he  moved  rapidly  past,  there  was  a  turning  of 
heads  to  follow  his  receding  figure — a  notable  and  striking 
form  in  those  days  of  darkness  that  brooded  over  the 
city.  I  came  to  know  him  well  in  the  after  anxious 
months  and  years. 

Mr.  Chase  retired  from  the  Treasury  Department  in 
that  June  ;  Mr.  Cisco,  Assistant  Treasurer  at  New  York, 
resigned.  Mr.  Chase  nominated  Mr.  Field,  Assistant  Sec 
retary  of  the  Treasury,  but  Senator  Morgan  of  New  York 
objected.  He  insisted  that  the  office  in  New  York,  as 
managed,  was  politically  a  nuisance.  Mr.  Chase  resented 
this  interference  and  words  passed  between  him  and  Mor 
gan.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  inclined  to  favor  Senator  Morgan. 
Mr.  Chase  wrote  one  of  the  best  of  his  manly,  dignified, 
and  independent  letters  to  the  President,  and  resigned. 
The  Baltimore  convention  had  done  its  perfect  work, 
there  was  then  no  special  thing  in  the  way,  and  the  Presi 
dent  gratified  Mr.  Chase  and  accepted  the  resignation. 
The  two  great  men  parted  in  amity  and  each  retained  the 
confidence  of  the  other. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  4th  of  July,  the  members  of 
the  House  hurried  away  to  look  after  their  own  re-elec 
tion,  and  Washington  became  deserted.  I  found  I  was 
the  one  Republican  lawyer  of  the  District.  I  had  made 
offensively  radical  speeches  which  did  not  immediately 
commend  me  to  a  Washington  clientage.  We  were  accus 
tomed  to  the  war,  and  in  our  neighborhood  had  heard  the 
smothered  thunder  of  more  than  one  conflict.  We  heard 
of  the  great  southwestern  struggles,  we  had  Mr.  Stanton's 
bulletins  of  blood  and  battle  daily,  and  Grant's  chronic 
"  battle  in  the  wilderness."  We  were  accustomed  to  defeat 
and  disaster  on  the  Virginia  fields,  though  none  of  us  for 


284  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.    [May-June  1864 

an  instant  felt  doubtful  of  the  end.  I  had  observed  the 
growing  warlike  feeling  of  our  masses,  among  whom  I 
had  never  detected  a  shiver,  not  a  premonitory  symptom 
of  discouragement.  On  the  contrary  they  developed 
a  steadier  and  stronger  determination  to  put  down  the 
rebellion.  Popular  songs,  pictorial  magazines,  and  periodi 
cals,  the  mass  of  army  correspondence,  picturesque  and 
attractive  ;  the  constant  visits  of  fathers,  mothers,  wives, 
sisters,  and  sweethearts  to  the  front,  to  hospitals,  and  to 
battle-fields,  kept  alive  the  patriotic  ardor  of  our  people, 
aroused  the  widely  diffused  heroic  elements  of  their  com 
posite  nature,  and  generated  and  matured  a  spirit  for  war, 
almost  for  the  sake  of  war,  in  men  and  women  to  whom 
national  wars  had  been  but  traditions.  The  character  of 
our  people  was  undergoing  a  radical  change.  War  will 
never  again  inspire  them  with  terror — much  as  they  will 
deplore  its  recurrence.  They  have  become  accustomed 
to  war  and  victory  on  the  largest  scale,  have  tested  their 
strength  and  capacity,  and,  should  the  occasion  arise,  they 
would  not  shrink  from  a  contest  with  Europe  itself. 


CHAPTER  XL. 


THE  LAST  INVASION. 


JULY,  1864. 

Wallace  Defeated  at  Monocacy — The  Capital  Alarmed — Rumors — Fugitives 
Come  in — Rebels  within  Five  Miles — The  Sixth  Corps  to  the  Rescue — 
Battle — The  Rebels  Retreat — Early  at  Silver  Springs. 

THE  Capitol,  deserted  by  Congress,  was  to  be  rudely 
awakened,  and  was  to  hear  the  tramp  of  the  rebel  war  horses 
if  not  to  see  them.  Jubal  Early  came  in  the  beginning 
of  July  and  rather  abruptly  shook  us  up.  Grant  and  all 
his  armies  were  waiting  near  Petersburg.  We  were  still 
receiving  shiploads  of  the  wounded  from  City  Point. 
Sigel  had  failed  to  make  an  impression  on  Lynchburg, 
which  seemed  almost  as  impregnable  as  Richmond.  Hun 
ter,  who  succeeded  Sigel,  finally  felt  obliged  to  retire  over 
the  mountains  into  West  Virginia  for  rest  and  re-organi 
zation,  as  was  said,  but  really  for  safety. 

This  opened  Maryland  to  invasion.  Sigel  had  a  small 
force  at  Martinsburg,  a  few  miles  above  Harper's  Ferry, 
on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad.  Lee  at  Petersburg 
had  unemployed  troops  available  for  the  opening,  and  he 
detailed  a  force,  large  enough  to  take  care  of  itself,  for 
the  third  invasion  under  Early.  That  might  compel 
Grant  to  detach  soldiers  to  meet  them.  Sigel  retired  to 
Maryland  heights.  The  President  issued  a  call  for  12,000 

285 


286  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.         [July  1864 

militia  from  Pennsylvania,  12,000  from  New  York,  and 
5000  from  Massachusetts,  to  repel  the  invaders.  Gov 
ernor  Curtin  and  General  Couch  were  stirred  up  in  Penn 
sylvania  to  put  their  border  on  the  defensive.  The  valley 
of  the  Cumberland  was  over-run  and  Hagerstown  and 
Frederick  laid  under  contribution.  The  slender  forces  of 
the  United  States  moved  toward  Chambersburg.  Gen 
eral  Lew  Wallace  had  a  small  force  on  the  Monocacy 
and  was  repulsed  on  the  gth  of  July,  near  Monocacy  Junc 
tion.  The  enemy  soon  after  attacked  him  in  force,  and 
a  battle  of  considerable  severity  ensued,  lasting  some 
hours.  Wallace  was  largely  out-numbered,  his  right  out 
flanked  by  the  enemy,  who  opened  an  enfilading  fire  and 
swept  off  500  or  600  men,  with  General  Tyler  and  his 
staff.  After  many  days  the  captured  General  reappeared 
sound  and  ready  for  another  fight.  General  Ricketts, 
with  a  small  force  sent  up  by  Grant,  formed  Wallace's 
left  in  the  battle,  in  which  we  lost  about  1200  men,  in 
cluding  a  number  of  officers. 

The  defeat  of  Wallace  disturbed  us  at  the  Capital  a 
good  deal,  though  we  were  hardened  beyond  a  panic.  I 
heard  of  some  secreting  of  valuables,  of  many  people 
leaving  the  city,  and  of  others  arranging  to  go. 

Some  notes  under  dates  may  be  sketched  in  here.  We 
heard  of  the  advance  down  the  valley  on  the  2d  of  July. 
There  was  great  alarm  at  Baltimore  on  the  4th,  and  also 
at  Hagerstown  and  Frederick.  On  the  5th,  we  heard  of 
the  battle  between  the  Kearsarge  and  Alabama,  and  the 
details  of  the  affair  reached  us  the  next  day.  We  also 
learned  on  the  5th  of  the  partial  uprising  of  the  "  Secesh  " 
at  Baltimore,  and  of  the  burning  of  Governor  Hicks's 
country  residence,  four  miles  from  that  city. 

On  the  6th  came  news  of  more  rebels  crossing  the  Po 
tomac,  and  of  a  panic  at  Hagerstown.  Great  excitement 
prevailed  also  in  our  neighboring  Georgetown.  Boats 
arriving  on  the  canal  brought  wild  rumors.  Forty  thou- 


July  1864]  THE   LAST  INVASION.  287 

sand  of  the  enemy  were  said  to  have  crossed  the  Potomac, 
7000  crossing  at  Muddy  Run. 

On  July  7th  there  were  30,000  rebels  in  Maryland, 
Hagerstown  was  plundered,  Union  men  and  secessionists 
were  robbed,  without  distinction. 

On  July  8th  Hagerstown  was  laid  under  contribution, 
and  we  heard  that  the  enemy  had  shown  themselves  at 
Laurel,  a  station  twelve  miles  from  us,  on  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad. 

On  the  Qth  there  were  12,000  rebels  at  Frederick,  as 
we  were  assured.  On  Sunday  fugitives  arrived  in  the 
city,  exciting  it  with  wild  rumors.  On  the  I2th  we  were 
made  to  believe  that  Washington  was  really  the  object  of 
the  invasion.  The  rebels  were  at  Rockville.  Their  whole 
force  was  estimated  at  not  less  than  40,000  men.  We 
heard  of  the  battle  of  Monocacy,  where,  as  was  said,  the 
enemy  had  20,000  men  engaged.  Fighting  on  the  Seventh 
Street  turnpike  was  also  reported.  On  the  same  July 
1 2th  the  railroad  and  wires  were  cut  off  between  Wash 
ington  and  Baltimore.  In  the  early  morning  of  that  day 
a  part  of  Wright's  soldiers,  of  the  Sixth  Army  Corps, 
landed  and  marched  through  the  city.  A  rumor  of  this 
flashed  over  the  excited  town,  but  was  contradicted.  Some 
of  us,  being  early  abroad,  had  ocular  proof  of  their  pres 
ence,  hurrying  to  the  scene  of  invasion  and  battle.  Some 
overwrought  souls  lapsed  to  serene  but  elevated  joy  at 
the  sight. 

The  Nineteenth  Corps,  on  its  way  from  New  Orleans  to 
General  Grant,  commanded  by  General  Emory,  had  en 
tered  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  was  dispatched  to  the  aid 
of  the  threatened  Capital.  When  Grant  became  aware 
of  the  possible  object  of  Early's  expedition,  a  body  of 
4000  or  5000  men  from  the  Sixth  Corps  was  detached 
from  the  Petersburg  lines  and  hurried  to  our  assist 
ance.  A  column  of  rebel  cavalry  threatened  Baltimore, 
while  Early,  with  the  main  force,  headed  toward  Wash- 


288  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.        [July  1864 

ington,  effected  a  junction  with  a  considerable  advanced 
body.  Augur  was  in  command  of  the  troops  at  the 
Capital. 

Meantime  two  or  three  courts-martial  were  suspended, 
and  the  generals  and  colonels  were  sent  to  the  earthworks, 
which  were  manned  by  the  Ohio  hundred-day  men. 
General  Paine  of  Port  Hudson  renown,  the  president  of 
one  of  the  courts-martial,  had  already  requested  active 
service  in  defence  of  the  city,  and  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  District  of  Columbia  force  ordered  to 
the  field  to  meet  Early.  On  his  first  appearance  at  the 
front  he  was  chagrined  to  find  no  show  of  soldiers  for 
his  command.  Early  the  next  morning  his  brow  cleared, 
and  he  was  gladdened  by  the  approach  of  Colonel 
Alexander  and  his  regiment,  a  numerous,  well-armed, 
and  fine-appearing,  resolute  body  of  men.  The  Colonel, 
not  a  trained  officer,  but  a  gallant  man  of  some  experi 
ence,  and  having  the  confidence  of  his  soldiers,  was 
there  for  immediate  service.  General  Paine  had  care 
fully  inspected  the  ground  along  the  line  of  the  ex 
pected  approach  of  the  enemy,  and  at  once  placed  his 
force  in  a  well-chosen  position.  As  previous  indications 
of  the  rebel  advance  were  confirmed  by  their  appearance 
in  force,  Paine  was  relieved  by  the  approach  of  the  men 
of  the  Sixth  Corps.  He  opened  his  line  for  their  passage, 
holding  himself  as  a  reserve  under  orders.  The  advance 
brigade  of  Wright  was  just  in  time.  The  opposing  forces 
of  veterans  met  and  fought  a  sharp  pitched  battle,  under 
the  eyes  of  the  reserves  of  General  Paine  and  Colonel 
Alexander.  The  parties  engaged  were  about  equal  in 
numbers  and  were  well  handled,  and  Paine  still  speaks  of 
the  affair  as  one  of  the  completest  things  of  the  war.  It 
lasted  some  hours,  when  the  enemy  drew  off  and  aban 
doned  the  field,  leaving  over  100  killed  or  too  badly 
wounded  to  be  taken  off  in  haste.  Eleven  officers  and 
90  men  were  placed  on  the  premises  of  the  senior  Blair. 


July  1864]  THE  LAST  INVASION.  289 

Our  casualties  were  quite  200,  counting  the  slightly 
wounded.  Just  why  the  rebels  should,  under  the  circum 
stances,  have  fought  this  little  battle  is  not  apparent. 
They  must  have  recognized  Wright's  men  (old  opponents 
of  theirs),  and  have  realized  that  the  idea  of  capturing 
Washington,  if  ever  entertained,  must  be  abandoned.  It 
may  have  been  their  object  to  enable  the  rest  of  their 
force  to  withdraw,  as  most  of  them  recrossed  the  Potomac 
late  that  day.  The  next  day  the  whole  force  approached 
the  river,  and  the  invasion  was  at  an  end.  Wright  with 
his  division  and  with  two  divisions  of  the  Nineteenth  fol 
lowed.  He  crossed  below  Edward's  Ferry,  and  pursued 
Early  towards  Leesburg.  Crook,  with  his  cavalry,  cap 
tured  part  of  one  of  the  enemy's  trains,  and  drove  his 
rearguard  through  Snicker's  Gap.  This  virtually  ended 
the  raid,  and  the  respective  forces  were  re-absorbed  in 
the  main  armies,  or  remained  to  renew  the  contests  and 
races  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  the  most  hunted  over 
ground  of  the  war. 

The  last  affair  was  fought  within  the  limits  of  the  Dis 
trict,  about  five  miles  north  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  just 
beyond  Brightwood,  which  was  then  a  hamlet.  Fort 
Stevens  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  turnpike.  A  little 
farther  north,  on  the  east  side,  is  the  neatly  kept  ceme 
tery  in  which  sleep  all  the  victims  of  the  battle,  while  some 
1 200  lie  with  their  head-stones  at  and  near  the  Old  Sol 
diers'  Home,  who  had  been  slain  in  battle,  or  who  had 
died  in  the  hospitals  in  the  neighborhood  of  Washington. 
Soldiers  desperately  wounded,  and  the  bodies  of  some 
who  died  in  the  shelter  of  woods  and  thickets  near  by, 
were  found  near  the  scene  of  this  sharp  affair  some  days 
after  the  battle  and  the  retreat  of  the  enemy.1 

1  To  us  in  the  city  there  seemed  an  unaccountable  delay  in  the  advance 

upon  the  Capital  (if  that  was  an  objective  point)  by  the  invasion.     As  is 

known,   Early  and  his   officers,   though  they  burnt   the  residence   of   the 

younger  Blair,  the  Postmaster-General,  made  themselves  the  guests  of  the 

19 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.        [July  1864 
PERSONAL    EXPERIENCES. 

My  part  in  this  campaign  was  very  inconspicuous.  I 
was  engaged  with  Mr.  Walter  S.  Cox,  now  a  Justice  of 
our  District  Supreme  Court,  in  the  defense  of  two  sutlers 
before  Doubleday's  court,  when  the  members  were  all 
ordered  to  the  defence  of  the  city.  On  returning  to  my 
office  at  evening  I  found  a  notice  that  I  was  enrolled  in 
Captain  -  — 's  company  of  militia,  and  ordered  to  appear 
for  duty  at  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning  at  a  point 
named  now  forgotten,  as  is  the  captain's  name.  In  my 
congressional  days  Henry  Slade  had  presented  me  with  a 
rifle  of  the  Kansas  war  pattern,  of  the  first  edition  of 
breech-loaders,  the  weapon  he  bore  in  the  conquest  of 
Alexandria  (not  on  the  Nile,  but  the  Potomac),  under 
the  gallant  Carrington.  That  gun  had  had  a  checkered 
history,  and  a  varying  place  of  deposit.  Slade  soon  bore 
it  away,  and  declared  it  to  be  a  trophy  of  disaster  and 
flight  brought  back  by  myself  from  fateful  Bull  Run. 
Still  later  he  presented  it  to  me  again  as  a  rebel  gun  of 
Mosby's  troop,  but  my  search  for  it  on  this  eve  of  battle 
was  unavailing.  I  anticipated  the  hour  the  next  morning 
and  armed  myself  with  an  umbrella,  after  the  manner  of 
the  Pope's  soldiers  of  Voltaire's  time.  I  found  no  one 
there — I  never  did  find  the  captain,  whose  name  I  had 
lost,  nor  did  I  find  any  of  his  heroes.  My  notice  was 
issued  by  Colonel  Wisewell,  Military  Governor,  under 
whom  the  city  then  groaned,  as  the  secessionists  said  ;  a 
gallant  man,  "  but  of  limitations  in  other  directions,"  as 
General  Browne  described  him.  I  went  to  his  headquar 
ters,  but  found  small  signs  of  a  movement  toward  the 

senior  Blair  at  Silver  Springs,  for  the  sake  of  the  memory  of  General  Jackson. 
In  the  freedom  of  uninvited  guests  they  early  discovered  two  casks  of 
Bourbon,  then  late  from  a  two  years'  ocean  voyage,  an  unsuspected  Union 
ally.  Their  allegiance  to  Bourbon  was  said  to  have  absorbed  them  for 
twenty-four  hours.  Montgomery  Blair  the  younger  assures  me  that  this  is 
true. 


July  1864]  THE  LAST  INVASION.  29! 

enemy  ;  and  joining  with  two  strangers,  we  started  in  a 
carriage  a  little  after  twelve  o'clock.  The  city  that  morn 
ing  was  all  of  a  quiver  with  excitement.  We  pushed  on 
out.  I  had  my  faithful  little  Remingtons,  carried  more 
from  habit  than  thought  of  their  possible  usefulness.  I 
hoped  to  reach  Fort  Stevens,  where  Paine  commanded. 

I  saw  a  part  of  Wright's  men  that  morning,  as  they 
passed  up  from  the  river  and  up  Seventh  Street,  which 
relieved  me  of  all  anxiety  as  to  the  fate  of  the  city. 

We  made  our  way  with  little  difficulty,  going  out  Four- 
teenth  Street  and  on  the  Piney  Branch  Road,  till  we 
reached  the  Blagden  place.  From  there  the  way  was 
much  obstructed.  We  soon  heard  the  sound  of  the  ord 
nance,  shelling  the  rebels,  as  I  learned  later,  and  our 
driver  refused  to  go  farther.  I  finally  lost  my  compan 
ions,  and  made  my  way  to  Brightwood,  where  I  saw 
the  smoke  of  the  fight,  and  had  some  glimpses  of  the 
combatants. 

Of  course  the  large  secession  element  of  Washington 
had  never  before  been  so  moved  as  on  Early's  approach 
at  the  head  of  a  numerous,  well-appointed,  and  presuma 
bly  conquering  army.  For  a  year  Grant  had  been  in 
command.  Hope  of  direct  liberation  by  a  conquest  of 
the  Capital  had  grown  faint,  but  now  at  last,  by  this  sud 
den,  unexpected  advance  and  successful  invasion,  the 
aspect  had  totally  changed  ;  hope  had  overcome  uncer 
tainty  and  doubt  in  a  measure,  and  all  contributed  to 
create  a  crisis  of  confused  emotions  in  their  circles.  A 
secessionist  was  now  known  by  the  radiance  of  his  face — 
"At  last,  at  last,  thank  God  !"  was  quoted,  as  exclama 
tory  bursts  from  them.  Many,  as  was  said,  had  already 
sought  the  enemy's  camps  and  forces,  to  aid  as  they  best 
could  in  the  reduction  of  the  Capital.  The  accounts  from 
Baltimore,  mentioned  above,  showed  almost  an  outbreak 
of  the  powerful  rebel  element  there  upon  the  approach  of 
the  invading  army.  It  was  the  long-sighed-for,  unattain- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.         [July  1864 


able  liberation,  now  about  to  be  consummated.  These 
things  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  cities  made  the  last  two 
or  three  days  of  the  invasion,  days  of  great  anxiety. 

Happily,  the  arrival  of  Wright's  and  Emory's  veterans 
cleared  the  atmosphere,  and  restored  to  the  Union  Heart 
a  sense  of  security  not  again  to  be  shaken. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 
THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION. 

JUNE-NOVEMBER,    1864. 
The  Convention — General  Fremont — The  Campaign — At  the  Capital. 

THE  renomination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  at  the  Baltimore 
convention  of  June  /th,  and  the  nomination  of  Mr.  John 
son  for  Vice-President,  have  been  briefly  mentioned 
above. 

The  platform  of  the  convention  was  quite  up  to  the 
expectations  of  the  radical  Republicans.  Indeed  there 
were  now  no  others. 

The  leading  features  of  the  admirably  framed  declara 
tion  of  the  convention  were  expressed  as  follows : 

It  pledged  the  nation  to  put  down  the  rebellion  by  force 
of  arms. 

Declared  the  determination  to  accept  no  terms  of  peace 
except  the  unconditional  surrender  of  the  enemy. 

Slavery  was  the  cause  and  strength  of  the  rebellion 
and  should  be  extirpated  from  the  soil  of  the  Republic. 

It  thanked,  sustained,  and  applauded  the  President,  the 
Army,  and  the  Navy,  and  had  confidence  only  in  those  in 
the  public  counsels  (Congress)  who  approved  and  sus 
tained  these  principles. 

The  Democrats  did  not  call  their  convention  together 
till  the  29th  of  August.  It  was  held  at  Chicago  and  was 
presided  over  by  Governor  Horatio  Seymour. 

293 


294  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.    [June-Nov.  1864 

As  was  predestined,  General  McClellan  was  nominated 
for  the  Presidency,  receiving  202^-  votes  to  23^-  for  Gov 
ernor  Thomas  H.  Seymour,  of  Connecticut.  Mr.  George 
H.  Pendleton  was  nominated  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 

The  convention  declared  itself  unswervingly  devoted 
to  the  Union. 

It  declared  the  war  a  failure,  and  demanded  a  cessation 
of  hostilities,  and  an  ultimate  convention  of  the  States, 
to  the  end  that  peace  might  be  attained. 

The  object  of  the  Democratic  party  was  stated  to  be  to 
preserve  the  Union  and  the  rights  of  the  States  unim 
paired.  The  usurpations  of  the  Administration  were 
vigorously  denounced. 

The  convention  also  denounced  the  arbitrary  impris 
onment  of  citizens,  and  extended  the  sympathy  of  the 
Democratic  party  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors. 

The  candidates  accepted  in  due  form  their  nominations. 

On  May  6th  an  address  by  the  so-called  "  radical  "  Re 
publicans  was  issued  in  favor  of  General  John  C.  Fremont, 
calling  on  his  friends  to  assemble  at  Cleveland,  in  mass 
convention,  and  to  take  steps  to  place  him  before  the  peo 
ple  as  a  presidential  candidate.  This  was  followed  by 
another,  from  some  of  the  State  officers  of  New  York,  for 
the  same  purpose.  A  third  call,  signed  by  a  number  of 
the  well  known  abolitionists,  also  appeared  to  the  same 
effect. 

Some  five  hundred  citizens  assembled  under  these  calls 
and  placed  the  General  in  nomination,  with  John  Coch- 
rane,  Attorney-General  of  New  York,  for  Vice-President. 
The  platform  of  this  body  was  sufficiently  incisive  and 
covered  some  important  propositions  not  connected  with 
the  war. 

General  Fremont  accepted  on  June  I4th.  He  withdrew 
on  the  2d  of  September,  supplementing  his  withdrawal 
with  a  letter  the  next  day,  and  later  presided  at  a  Lincoln 
and  Johnson  meeting. 


June-Nov.  1864]        THE  PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTION.  295 

The  Democracy  had  troubles  of  its  own.  Vallandigham 
had  returned  and  was  at  Chicago.  He  and  a  band  of  war 
like  peace  Democrats,  repudiated  McClellan,  and  resolved 
upon  an  independent  nomination.  The  Woods,  Fernando 
and  Ben,  were  active  in  the  conspiracy,  and  Alexander 
Long  also  took  a  prominent  part.  They  resolved  to  hold 
a  convention  in  Cincinnati,  but  the  convention  did  not 
convene.  Pendleton  was  charged  with  the  scheme,  and 
had  to  write  a  letter  to  Honorable  John  B.  Haskin  of 
New  York.  He  was  totally  opposed  to  having  two  gov 
ernments  in  the  once  United  States,  and  was  in  favor  of 
all  constitutional  means  (not  naming  them)  for  the  restora 
tion  of  the  Union.  The  threatened  bolt  never  reached 
an  outbreak,  however,  but  died  a  natural  death. 

The  fact  that  at  no  time  in  the  history  of  the  District 
of  Columbia  could  its  people  vote  for  a  President,  how 
ever  indirectly,  would  seem  to  insure  them  against  any 
intensity  of  feeling,  as  well  as  to  spare  them  from  the  strife 
and  expense  of  a  campaign.  But  in  fact  there  are  no 
people  in  the  United  States  more  immediately  interested 
in  a  presidential  or  a  congressional  election  than  the  resi 
dents  of  Washington,  and  few  enter  upon  a  campaign 
with  more  eagerness  and  zeal.  True,  they  cannot  in  any 
direct  way  influence  the  result,  but  they  dwell  constantly 
in  the  eye  of  the  nation,  and  what  is  said  and  done  at  the 
seat  of  the  national  government  is  seen,  heard,  and  talked 
about  all  over  the  country. 

The  political  campaign  opened  late,  due  to  the  delay  of 
the  always  tardy  McClellanites  in  getting  into  the  field. 
No  efforts  were  needed  to  get  out  votes,  nor  was  there 
any  labor  for  election  day,  for  there  was  no  voting  to  be 
done  in  the  city. 

The  Democrats  had  a  huge  ratification  meeting  in  front 
of  the  City  Hall,  with  an  immense  procession,  and  three 
stands  occupied  by  many  able  speakers. 

The  Republicans  formed  a  Lincoln-Johnson  Club,  with 


296  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.  [June-Nov.  1864 

branches  in  some  of  the  wards.  They  serenaded  the  Presi 
dent,  who  made  a  speech,  a  kind  of  trumpet  call  to  the 
Union  forces  ;  they  serenaded  Mr.  Seward,  who  repeated 
his  very  effective  New  York  speech ;  they  serenaded  Mr. 
Chase,  who  responded  in  his  usual  thoughtful  manner. 1 

The  Republicans  at  the  Capital  held  one  notable  out 
door  meeting,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Seventh  Street 
and  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  on  an  exquisite  late  October 
afternoon.  Ex-Secretary  Chase,  Governor  Andrew  of 
Massachusetts,  and  A.  G.  Riddle  were  announced  as  the 
speakers.  There  was  an  immense  throng  of  men,  and  a 
sprinkling  of  ladies.  The  meeting  was  notable  for  the 
comparative  failure  of  the  two  distinguished  gentlemen  to 
fill  the  parts  assigned  them. 

By  request,  Governor  Andrew  spoke  first.  He  stated 
that  he  had  been  detained  a  day  or  two  in  Washington 
from  important  official  duties  at  his  own  capital,  then 
delivered  a  brief  but  effective  exhortation  and  went 
away. 

Mr.  Chase  made  a  few  general  remarks — spoke  in  terms 
very  like  irony  of  the  party  who  would  follow  him,  and 
took  his  departure.  Neither  had  occupied  more  than  thirty 

1  I  was  with  Mr.  Chase  in  his  last  Ohio  gubernatorial  canvass,  and  learned 
something  of  his  methods.  He  wrote  out  a  general  address,  covering  all  the 
principal  points,  and  from  this  he  seldom  departed.  He  wrought  it  out  on 
the  stand,  improving,  curtailing,  enlarging,  as  he  became  familiar  with  it,  the 
speech  constantly  gaining  in  effectiveness.  He  was  not  a  quick,  spontaneous 
speaker  ;  he  needed  preparation,  and  trusted  to  the  weight  of  thought  rather 
than  to  the  graces  of  oratory.  His  voice  lacked  a  little  in  clear,  resonant 
quality  ;  he  was  a  speaker  of  the  Thomas  Ewing  order,  strong,  massive, 
satisfying,  rather  than  of  the  class  of  Thomas  Corwin  and  John  Brough.  The 
latter  had  the  finest  voice  for  the  field  that  I  ever  heard.  He  had  a  trick, 
when  interrupted  by  applause,  of  resuming  in  the  same  tone  and  volume  as 
when  broken  in  upon,  producing  the  impression  that  he  had  spoken  steadily 
on  through  the  storm  ;  he  was  the  only  man  I  ever  knew  who  had  that  art. 
Corwin  had  a  marvellous  voice,  capable  of  every  inflection,  intoned  to  every 
emotion.  To  this  were  joined  a  face  and  eyes  the  most  flexible  and  expressive, 
which  could  carry  on  the  discourse  when  the  tongue  became  mute.  I  have 
witnessed  the  marvellous  effect  wrought  by  them  unaided  by  the  voice. 


June-Nov,  18641       THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION.          297 

minutes.1  The  crowd  was  good-natured,  responsive,  and 
docile,  when  it  discovered  that  a  man  was  not  speaking  for 
applause. 

What  an  autumn  that  was  !  Messrs.  Jay  Cooke  & 
Company  reported  each  day  for  the  city  press  the  rates  of 
the  public  securities.  It  is  curious  now  to  turn  over  the 
time-stained  files  and  mark  the  fluctuations  of  gold  in  the 
market.  Soon  after  the  Chicago  convention,  gold  reached 
254^,  under  the  influence  of  the  presidential  struggle.  The 
fall  of  Atlanta,  the  capture  of  Fort  Morgan,  the  defeats  of 
Early  by  Sheridan  in  the  Valley,  reduced  gold  to  191. 

November  8th  was  the  day  of  election  for  President,  in 
which  twenty-five  States  participated.  The  whole  number 
of  votes  cast  was  3,964,298  ;  of  these  Mr.  Lincoln  received 
2,203,831,  and  McClellan  1,760,467,  giving  Mr.  Lincoln 
443,364  majority  of  the  popular  vote. 

In  the  Electoral  College  Mr.  Lincoln  received  two 
hundred  and  twelve  votes  and  General  McClellan  received 
twenty-one,  and  this  was  the  nation's  response  to  the 
Chicago  platform  and  to  George  B.  McClellan. 

1  It  is  a  satisfaction  to  a  man  similarly  situated  to  feel  absolute  master  of 
himself,  and  to  know  that  the  whole  field  lies  well  digested  in  his  grasp,  and 
whom  experience  has  assured  that  within  two  minutes  he  would  be  master  of 
the  multitude.  The  crowd  stood  solid  around  the  third  speaker  till  darkness 
melted  it  into  an  indistinguishable  mass,  and  then  insisted  that  he  should 
"goon." 


CHAPTER   XLII. 
RECONSTRUCTION. 

JULY,   1864. 

Radical  Difference  between  Congress  and  the  President — The  President's 
Scheme — Congress  Passed  a  Bill  not  Signed — Mr.  Wade — Mr.  Davis. 

WHILE  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  skilful  and  unsparing  policy 
had  dealt  the  most  vigorous  and  conclusive  blows  upon 
the  rebels,  he  had  at  the  same  time  employed  the  arts  of 
persuasion  and  solicitation  to  an  extent  not  in  accord  with 
the  views  of  the  leaders  of  the  national  cause  in  the  two 
Houses. 

His  famous  Amnesty  Proclamation  of  December  8,  1863, 
was  at  once  so  sweeping  and  liberal,  that  its  universal 
rejection  should  have  satisfied  him  that  the  war  could 
never  be  ended  by  offer  and  acceptance  of  pardon,  and  yet 
this  was  two  or  three  times  amended  and  made  easier  for 
the  offenders,  who  remained  obstinate.  The  discussion  in 
Congress  incidentally  disclosed  that  the  views  of  the  two 
departments  were  widely  divergent  on  this  grave  problem. 

On  the  1 5th  of  February,  1864,  Henry  Winter  Davis, 
from  the  Committee  on  the  Belligerent  States,  reported  a 
bill  in  the  House  to  guarantee  a  republican  form  of  gov 
ernment  to  the  States  at  war  with  the  republic.  His  bill 
received  an  exhaustive  discussion  in  both  Houses  and 
passed  the  House  by  a  vote  of  seventy-three  for  to  fifty- 
nine  against  it.  In  the  Senate,  Sumner  moved  an 

298 


July  1864]  RECONSTRUCTION.  299 

amendment  to  ratify  the  President's  Proclamation  of 
Emancipation  of  January  I,  1863.  It  was  lost  by  eleven 
for  to  twenty-one  against — and  seventeen  absent.  The 
bill  then  passed  the  Senate — twenty-six  to  twenty.  It 
required  the  President  to  appoint  a  provisional  governor 
for  each  of  the  rebel  States  (of  course  only  when  the 
rebellion  was  ended),  who  were  to  enrol  each  white  male 
citizen  of  their  States  respectively  and  to  request  each 
to  take  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Constitution.  The 
names  of  those  refusing  the  oath  were  to  be  marked  and 
returned  to  the  several  governors,  and  if  the  rolls  showed 
that  a  majority  had  taken  the  oath,  the  loyal  citizens  were, 
on  a  certain  day,  to  elect  delegates  to  a  State  convention, 
to  declare  the  will  of  the  people  relative  to  the  re-estab 
lishment  of  a  State  government  under  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  The  delegates  were  to  be  elected  by 
the  whites,  on  a  day  to  be  named,  at  an  election  held  by 
appointed  commissioners,  and  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance 
to  be  prescribed  by  the  governor,  who  should  make  due 
returns  of  the  election  to  the  government.  The  governor 
was  by  proclamation  to  convene  the  delegates — the  con 
vention  to  be  presided  over  by  the  governor,  who  should 
administer  the  prescribed  oath  to  each  delegate.  The  con 
vention  was  to  declare  on  behalf  of  the  people  of  the  State 
their  submission  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  was  to  adopt  the  following :  "  No  person  below 
the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  Confederacy,  shall  vote  for,  or 
be  eligible  to  the  office  of,  Governor,  or  as  a  member  of  the 

o 

Legislature.  Slavery  shall  be  forever  abolished.  No  Con 
federate  public  debt  shall  be  recognized  or  paid  by  the 
State." 

The  Constitution  was  to  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the 
people.  If  the  convention  refused  the  conditions  imposed, 
the  governor  was  to  call  another,  which  was  to  be  dissolved 
or  a  State  government  certified.  In  the  meantime,  the 
governor  was  to  enforce  laws  and  preserve  order,  and  to 


300  RECOLLECTIONS   OF  WAR   TIMES.          [July  1864- 

assess  and  collect  taxes,  which  were  to  be  applied  to  public 
expenses  and  accounted  for.  Section  twelve  abolished 
slavery.  Persons  holding  Confederate  offices,  after  the 
passage  of  the  Act  (except  ministerial),  below  the  grade  of 
colonel,  should  be  citizens  of  the  United  States.  The  bill 
passed  on  the  last  day  of  the  session  and  reached  the 
President  an  hour  before  final  adjournment. 

It  was  not  signed.  On  the  8th  of  July,  the  President 
replied  to  it  by  solemn  proclamation,  to  which  the  bill  was 
appended.  One  provision  contained  a  scheme  of  recon 
struction  to  which  the  President  was  unwilling  to  bind 
himself,  and  hence  could  not  approve.  He  was  unwilling 
to  set  aside  the  recently  formed  free  State  governments  of 
Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  and  thus  discourage  the  loyal 
people  of  the  revolted  States ;  and  he  was  unwilling  to 
admit  that  Congress  could  abolish  slavery  in  the  States. 
He  trusted  to  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution  for  that 
purpose.  Yet  he  was  fully  satisfied  with  the  scheme  pro 
posed  as  proper  for  the  loyal  people  who  might  accept  it, 
and  he  would  aid  the  people  of  any  State  in  so  doing,  in 
which  case  military  governors  would  be  appointed,  with 
directions  to  proceed  under  the  provisions  of  the  bill. 

The  proclamation  of  December  8th,  may  be  glanced 
at  for  a  clear  understanding  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  views  on 
this  vastly  important  subject.  That  offered  pardon  and 
amnesty  to  those  taking  the  special  oath  of  allegiance 
prescribed  by  it,  and  provided  that  whenever  the  thus 
qualified  citizens,  in  any  of  the  Confederate  States,  except 
Virginia,  equalled  in  number  one  tenth  of  the  whole 
number  of  the  votes  cast  in  a  given  State  at  the  presi 
dential  election  of  1860,  they  should  establish  a  State 
government,  which  should  be  republican,  and  which  was 
to  be  recognized  as  the  true  State  government.  It  also 
enjoined  care  of  the  freedmen,  and  recognized  a  condition 
of  temporary  servitude.  The  oath  enjoined  obedience  to 
all  the  laws  of  Congress  in  reference  to  slaves. 


July  1864]  RECONSTRUCTION.  301 

It  is  thus  evident  that  the  President  assumed  that  the 
reconstruction  of  the  States  was  the  labor  of  the  Execu 
tive  exclusively,  and  he  would  not  perfect  the  bill  of  Con 
gress  to  an  Act  by  appending  his  official  signature  to  it, 
nor  did  he  recommend  the  scheme  that  an  Act  should  be 
passed  by  Congress.  This  body  in  return  stigmatized  his 
December  proclamation  as  the  "  ten  per  cent  plan." 

Congress  had  adjourned,  and  nearly  all  the  members  of 
the  House  had  left  the  Capital  before  this  extraordinary 
disposition  of  their  carefully  framed  plan  was  made  by 
the  proclamation  of  July  8th.— (13  United  States  Statutes 
at  Large,  pp.  744-747-) 

This  remarkable  proclamation,  however,  did  not  escape 
a  crushing  reply  and  criticism  from  Messrs.  Wade  and 
Davis,  the  chairmen  of  the  respective  committees  of  the 
Senate  and  House  to  which  the  President's  declaration 
would  have  been  referred.  It  came  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Davis,  and  is  one  of  the  strong  papers  of  the  war. 

I  epitomize  this  protest,  which  can,  in  fact,  not  be  con 
densed  with  justice. 

The  authors  admit  the  indignation  with  which  they  read 
the  proclamation.  They  assert  the  right  and  duty  of  the 
legislative  branch  to  hold  in  check  the  aggressive  tenden 
cies  of  the  executive.  To  pass  that  missive  in  silence 
would  be  a  failure  of  that  duty.  The  President  had  not 
signed  the  bill  passed  by  Congress  after  the  most  mature 
deliberation.  The  bill,  in  consequence,  came  to  nothing. 
The  proclamation,  which  was  neither  an  approval  nor  a 
veto,  is  a  paper  unknown  to  the  Constitution.  As  an  ex 
cuse  for  withholding  the  executive  signature,  it  is  a  decla 
ration  against  the  friends  of  the  government.  To  execute 
a  bill  not  a  law,  is  usurpation. 

The  paper  then  summarizes  the  proclamation,  and  re 
plies  to  its  positions.  The  bill  was  presented  with  others 
which  were  signed,  although  at  the  last  hour  of  Congress. 
The  President,  when  asked  if  he  had  further  communica- 


3O2  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.         [July  1864 

tion  to  make,  had  none,  saying  he  had  resolved  not  to  sign 
the  bill.  Time  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  The  President 
was  fully  informed  of  the  provisions  of  the  bill.  A  draft 
of  it  had  been  furnished  him  beforehand.  He  was  not 
taken  by  surprise.  He  was  so  well  informed  of  the  bill, 
that  he  had  resolved  to  defeat  it  without  the  responsibility 
of  a  veto.  It  was  known  to  General  Banks  and  to  his 
staff  in  New  Orleans,  that  the  bill  would  be  delayed  in 
the  Senate  to  permit  this  method  of  defeating  it.  The 
experience  of  Senator  Wade,  who  had  charge  of  the  bill, 
fully  accords  with  this. 

Had  the  proclamation  stopped  there,  it  would  have 
been  but  another  defeat  of  the  will  of  the  people  by  the 
Executive  perversions  of  the  Constitution. 

They  then  quote  the  President's  proclamation,  where  it 
professes  to  lay  the  congressional  plan  of  reconstruction 
before  the  people,  for  their  consideration.  Shall  it  become 
a  law  by  such  approval,  at  the  President's  will  ?  Will  he 
then  deem  it  to  be  a  law  ?  Or  is  this  a  mere  device  to 
defeat  the  bill? 

They  then  reply  to  the  reasons  for  withholding  the 
President's  signature.  He  was  unprepared  to  commit 
himself  to  a  fixed  plan.  His  wisdom  was  to  guide  alone 
in  this  most  important  matter.  He  was  not  prepared  to 
set  aside  the  new  governments  of  Louisiana  and  Arkan 
sas,  declared  by  the  protest  to  be  but  shadows,  and  repu 
diated  by  Congress.  The  condition  of  these  States  is  set 
forth,  showing  that  their  territory  was  almost  wholly  in 
the  hands  of  the  rebels. 

By  the  schemes  of  State  government,  as  designed  by 
the  President,  the  electoral  vote  at  the  ensuing  election 
would  be  wholly  in  his  hands,  subject  to  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  war.  This  feature  of  the  Executive  scheme  is 
severely  condemned.  The  bill  declared  that  there  were 
no  State  governments  in  the  seceded  States  which  could 
take  part  in  the  national  election,  and  it  devises  a  scheme 


July  18641  RECONSTRUCTION.  303 

for  the  creation  of  such  governments.  The  proclamation 
holds  this  action  of  the  law  making  power  for  naught,  and 
plunges  headlong  into  the  anarchy  of  the  8th  of  December 
proclamation.  If  presidential  electors  are  created  by  this 
means,  a  sinister  light  will  be  cast  upon  the  President's 
motives  in  the  creation  of  these  State  governments.  The 
power  to  declare  or  recognize  State  governments  rests 
wholly  with  Congress.  They  cite  the  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  to  sustain  this  position.  The  President 
admits  that  it  rests  with  the  two  Houses  to  decide  whether, 
under  his  scheme,  Senators  and  Representatives  can  sit 
from  the  States.  This  is  utterly  inconsistent  with  his 
scheme  of  forming  State  governments. 

The  right  to  have  Senators  and  Representatives  is  an 
absolute  right  of  a  State  government.  Without  State 
governments  there  can  be  no  Senators  nor  Representatives. 
The  two  Houses  can  alone,  without  aid  or  hindrance  of 
the  President,  decide  who  shall  be  the  members  of  their 
body  severally.  When  they  are  thus  admitted,  that  act 
declares  that  their  State  government  exists.  When  they 
are  rejected,  such  State  government  does  not  exist. 

To  this  decision  the  President  must  submit.  The  Presi 
dent  denies  that  Congress  has  the  power  to  abolish  slavery. 
Cannot  a  State  government  abolish  slavery  ?  Surely  Con 
gress  can  create  a  State  government  with  the  assent  of  the 
Executive.  He  has  already  signed  three  bills  freeing,  un 
der  authority  of  Congress,  certain  classes  of  slaves  of  the 
rebel  States.  Why  he  should  scruple  at  our  doing  what 
he  does  by  our  authority,  is  not  clear.  The  bill  contains 
no  provision  inconsistent  with  these  views.  Can  the 
President  claim  to  be  sincere  in  his  proclaimed  wish  to 
abolish  slavery  when  he  refuses  to  sign  this  bill,  which,  as 
a  taw,  would  then  require  each  new  State  constitution,  in 
terms,  to  abolish  slavery  within  the  State  limits? 

Yet  the  President,  though  refusing  to  sign  the  bill,  de 
clares  his  purpose  to  execute  it  as  a  dictator.  The  protest 


304  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.       [July  1864 

recites  the  President's  language,  and  declares  it  is  a 
studied  outrage  upon  the  legislative  authority  of  the 
people.  Congress  passes  a  bill  ;  the  President  refuses  to 
sign  it,  yet  proclaims  his  purpose  to  enforce  so  much  of  it 
as  suits  his  purpose,  by  officers  unknown  to  the  Constitu 
tion  and  laws. 

The  bill  proposed  provisional  governors,  to  be  appointed 
as  the  Constitution  directs.  The  President  defeats  the 
bill,  and  proposes  to  appoint  them  without  law  and  with 
out  the  consent  of  the  Senate,  and  this  dictatorial  power 
he  has  already  exercised  in  Louisiana,  and  the  protest 
gives  the  form  of  the  appointment  of  governor  Michael 
Hahn,  and  contends  that  he  remains  a  private  citizen  so 
far  as  law  and  the  Constitution  are  concerned,  maugre 
the  President's  appointment. 

The  President,  after  nullifying  the  bill  itself,  proposes 
to  instruct  his  governors  to  proceed  according  to  the  bill. 
Whatever  is  done  will  be  at  his  will  and  pleasure,  not  be 
cause  it  is  the  will  of  the  people,  declared  in  constitu 
tional  forms  and  binding  upon  him,  but  because  it  is  his 
will.  Should  the  rebel  States  adopt  the  provisions,  well 
and  good.  If  not,  it  would  be  just  as  well.  It  is  all  left 
to  the  rebels  to  choose  between  the  stringent  bill  or  the 
lax  proclamation.  The  protest  contrasts  the  provisions  of 
the  two  schemes,  not  to  the  advantage  of  the  President's 
plan,  and  with  great  skill  shows  their  working  in  the 
practical  matter  of  government. 

The  paper  throughout  shows  great  analytical  power, 
logical  force,  and  clearness  of  statement. 

Outside  of  Washington,  the  people  took  sides  with  the 
President  and  against  Messrs.  Wade  and  Davis.  Mr. 
Wade  was  with  his  own  people  for  many  months  under  a 
very  dark  cloud.  Young  Garfield,  who  was  at  once  called 
to  other  States,  found  on  his  return  to  Ohio  that  his 
people  were  unanimously  against  him,  and  on  the  assem 
bling  of  the  nominating  convention  of  his  district  he  was 


July  18641  RECONSTRUCTION.  305 

sent  for  and  put  on  his  defense  before  that  determined 
body.  They  accused  him  of  writing  the  paper.  He  made 
his  reply  short,  emphatic,  and  decisive,  to  the  effect  that 
he  fully  approved  of  the  paper,  and  strode  haughtily  out 
of  the  hall.  The  effect  was  such  that  he  was  nominated  by 
acclamation,  and  heard  the  cheers  given  for  him  as  he  was 
moving  away  from  the  hall  where  the  convention  was 
assembled,  supposing  they  were  for  his  defeat. 

Everywhere,  north,  east,  south,  and  west,  the  masses 
were  with  Mr.  Lincoln.  No  President  was  ever  more 
cordially  sustained  by  the  people. 

At  the  Capital,  thinking  Union  men  were  quite  unani 
mous  in  sustaining  Mr.  Wade  and  Mr.  Davis,  as  was  the 
majority  of  both  Houses  of  Congress.  It  is  difficult  to 
sustain  the  position  of  the  President  in  this  most  unfor 
tunate  difference.  The  whole  scheme  of  the  erection  and 
acceptance  of  States  into  the  Union,  as  well  as  deciding 
who  shall  represent  them  and  their  people  in  the  two 
Houses,  is  broadly  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Congress.  It 
was  a  curious  statement  in  the  proclamation  of  July  8th 
that  if  the  loyal  people  and  States  should  adopt  and  act 
upon  the  congressional  bill,  the  Executive  would  give 
them  all  the  aid  in  his  power,  when  the  bill  provided  that 
the  President  must  take  the  initiative  by  the  appointment 
of  a  provisional  government,  and  that  until  this  was  done 
action  on  the  part  of  the  loyal  people  was  impossible. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  the  divergence  of  the  two 
divisions  of  the  government,  a  divergence  to  be  exagger 
ated  and  emphasized  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  succeeded  by 
Mr.  Johnson.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  some  of  the 
troubles  of  the  next  years  could  have  been  avoided,  had 
Mr.  Lincoln  remained  to  enforce  his  plan  and  policy. 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 

MILITARY    COMMISSIONS. 

1862-1864. 

The  City  in  a  State  of  Siege — General  L.  C.  Baker — Provost-Marshal  Office 
Secrets — The  Milligan  Case — Other  Cases. 

As  before  stated,  the  city  of  Washington  was,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  wholly  in  sympathy  with  the  South. 
Something  of  this  I  came  to  know  while  in  the  House. 
Much  of  the  time  it  might  have  been  regarded  as  a  city  in 
a  state  of  siege.  It  had  a  military  governor,  and  the 
Provost-Marshal  was  General  L.  C.  Baker,  the  detective, 
whose  position  and  services  made  him,  in  the  eyes  of  all 
Southerners  and  their  friends,  the  most  odious  of  men. 
Nominally  he  was  the  Colonel  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
Regiment  of  Cavalry,  usually  under  the  command  of  his 
brother,  as  Lieutenant-Colonel.  Lieutenant-Colonel  O.  E. 
Conger  served  in  this  regiment,  which  was  one  of  the 
most  effective  of  the  volunteer  regiments  of  cavalry  of  the 
war.  Colonel  Baker,  though  occasionally  in  the  field,  was, 
unless  on  detective  duty,  confined  to  the  city,  having  his 
office  on  Eighteenth  Street,  near  F,  Northwest.  He  was 
a  man  of  little  culture,  dark,  taciturn,  square-shouldered, 
and  of  powerful  frame,  who  had  seen  service  under  the 
Vigilance  Committee  of  San  Francisco. 

At  the  seat  of  government  and  around  about  it  having 

306 


1862-1864]  MILITARY  COMMISSIONS.  307 

almost  irresponsible  power,  the  limit  of  which  was  his  re 
lentless  will ;  compelled  to  act  promptly  on  such  informa 
tion  as  he  could  gather,  there  were  undoubtedly,  with  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  in  chronic  suspension,  many  acts  of 
oppression,  and  much  individual  wrong  suffered  at  his 
hands.  Yet,  with  all  the  complaint  of  his  despotic  and 
unwarranted  conduct,  it  is  a  curious  and  significant  com 
mentary  upon  him,  that  he  was  never  prosecuted  in  the 
District  but  once,  nor  was  there  ever  a  suit  instituted 
against  him  to  recover  for  unlawful  arrest,  or  maltreatment 
of  the  person,  save  the  instance  referred  to.  He  had  a 
large  number  of  assistants  and  constantly  kept  horses 
enough  to  mount  a  troop  of  cavalry.  He  was  born  a  detec 
tive,  and  made  some  of  the  most  surprising  hits  in  the 
field  of  detective  service,  often  rendering  invaluable  aid  to 
the  government.  I  came  to  know  him  well  personally, 
and  shall  have  occasion  to  mention  him  later. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  War  of  1812  the 
British,  under  General  Ross,  had  captured  the  city  and 
burnt  the  Capitol,  and  that  Congress  erected  a  large 
wooden  building  at  the  corner  of  Second  Street  East 
and  North  A,  which  was  used  as  the  Capitol  till  the  cen 
tral  part  of  the  present  building  was  in  condition  for  the 
use  of  Congress.  This  building  was,  early  in  1861,  de 
voted  to  the  purposes  of  a  prison,  and  was  called  the  old 
"  Capitol  prison."  A  long  row  of  buildings  fronting  the 
Capitol  grounds,  running  from  East  Capitol  Street  to 
South  A,  known  as  "  Duff  Green's  Row,"  and  also  as  the 
Carroll  prison — was  in  fact  an  annex  to  the  first  named.1 

1  It  was  said  that,  as  a  rule,  counsel  were  obliged  to  see  their  clients  in 
these  prisons  in  the  presence  of  an  officer  on  duty. 

The  rule  was  never  enforced  against  me,  and  I  doubt  whether  there  ever 
was  such  a  rule  in  existence. 

My  first  visit  was  attended  with  an  unusual  incident.  I  was  called  to  see 
a  young  man,  John  Devlin,  from  New  York  City,  who  was  charged  with 
sundry  acts  committed  in  New  York  detrimental  to  the  United  States,  and 
who,  although  not  in  the  military  service,  was  to  be  tried  before  a  military 


308  RECOLLECTIONS   OF    WAR    TIMES.  [1862- 

W.  P.  Wood  was  the  Governor  of  the  old  Capitol,  a 
rough,  uncultured  man,  despotic,  but  kindly  natured, 
and  not  intentionally  harsh  ;  yet  how  could  he  be  other 
wise  to  men  imprisoned  for  no  defined  offence,  whose 
friends  often  could  not,  for  months,  ascertain  the  cause  of 
their  detention,  and  who,  when  discharged,  were  dismissed 
without  explanation  or  compensation. 

The  celebrated  case  of  Milligan  and  Others  belongs  to 
this  period.  It  will  be  brought  fully  under  notice  for  an 
other  purpose.  In  the  order  of  time,  and  as  illustrative 
of  character,  it  must  receive  mention  here. 

The  secret  history  of  the  Provost  Marshal  General's 
office  at  Washington,  and  its  connection  with  the  War 
Office,  of  which  it  was  an  agency,  never  can  be  written, 
perhaps  never  should  be.  It  is  known,  however,  that 
the  old  Capitol  and  Carroll  prisons  were  thronged  with 
men  against  whom  no  charges  were  ever  preferred,  who 
were  never  tried,  and  yet  who  were  arbitrarily  detained 
against  remonstrance  and  without  a  shadow  of  constitu 
tional  authority.  The  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  sus 
pended,  arid  there  were  no  legal  means  of  relief.  In  this 
condition  of  affairs  a  statement  concerning  the  prisons, 
with  many  details,  was  sent  to  the  Military  Committee, 
which  so  startled  the  generals  at  its  head,  that  they  went 
to  the  prisons  and  made  a  personal  inquiry.  They  saw 
several  of  the  prisoners  and  heard  their  stories,  which  ex 
cited  their  surprise  and  indignation.  On  the  next  day 
Garfield  offered  a  resolution  demanding  an  inquiry.  The 
House  adopted  the  resolution,  and  directed  the  Military 
Committee  to  make  the  inquiry.  On  the  day  following 

commission  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  On  being  conducted  to  his  room, 
his  first  act  was,  in  silence,  to  remove  a  small  steel  plate,  by  the  use  of  a 
screw-driver,  from  the  bottom  of  the  heel  of  his  left  boot,  and  take  from  a 
box  secreted  in  the  heel  a  $1000  Treasury  note,  which  he  handed  to  me  as  a 
retainer. 

Thousand-dollar  retainers  had  before  been  known  to  me,  but  had  never 
before  been  drawn  from  such  a  bank  of  deposit. 


1864]  MILITARY  COMMISSIONS.  309 

General  Garfield  was  detained  from  the  House  at  its 
opening.  When  he  entered  he  found  it  listening  to 
Thaddeus  Stevens  on  his  motion  to  rescind  Garfield's 
resolution  of  the  day  before,  which  the  old  man  de 
nounced  as  needless  and  mischievous  intermeddling  on 
the  part  of  a  young  man  with  the  management  of  the 
War  Office.  Garfield  replied  with  great  spirit,  stating  the 
origin  of  the  resolution,  his  personal  inquiry  and  what  he 
had  found  ;  related  in  indignant  terms  the  outrages  upon 
Union  men  ;  told  the  story  of  a  Union  colonel  who  was 
wounded  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run ;  then  de 
nounced  the  great  Secretary  of  War  as  worthy  of  im 
peachment,  and  told  the  House  to  rescind  the  resolution 
if  it  would.  The  House  declined  so  to  act,  and  there  was 
an  immediate  emptying  of  the  prisons,  which  rendered 
the  inquiry  useless.  The  daring  of  the  young  tribune  in 
thus  bearding  the  terrible  Secretary  won  the  admiration 
of  all  men,  and  especially  of  Mr.  Stanton  himself,  which 
was  manifested  in  a  striking  way.  Meantime,  Milligan 
and  his  co-conspirators  were  in  prison  awaiting  execution, 
and  the  kind  Lincoln  was  sorely  perplexed. 

In  this  exigency  Judge  Black  and  one  or  two  leading 
Democrats  approached  Garfield,  laid  the  case  before  him, 
and  asked  him  to  appear  in  it  before  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  The  defendants  were  poor,  abject, 
and  odious,  but  their  case  involved  the  same  great  ques 
tions  of  right,  constitutional  law,  and  civil  liberty,  so 
promptly  and  effectively  vindicated  in  the  case  of  the 
Capitol  and  Carroll  prisons.  Garfield  did  not  hesitate. 
His  sense  of  duty  in  the  defense  of  the  principles  involved 
compelled  him,  at  any  personal  sacrifice  and  peril,  to  un 
dertake  the  case.  He  prepared  his  great  argument, 
printed  his  brief,  presented  the  case,  convinced  the  court, 
saved  the  wretched  men,  and  restored  to  menaced  rights 
the  support  of  the  law  of  the  land.1 

1  See  Chapter  I.,  Part  V.,  Life  of  Gar  field. 


310  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.  L1862- 

The  instances  of  arresting  citizens  in  States  where  the 
administration  of  the  laws  was  in  healthy  and  vigorous 
enforcement  by  the  legal  tribunals,  transporting  them 
across  States  where  no  hostile  foot  had  intruded,  and 
putting  them  upon  trial  before  a  military  commission, 
were  of  alarming  frequency.  I  may  mention  some  in 
stances  in  which  I  appeared  for  the  defense. 

It  was  of  course  the  case  with  the  condition  of  things 
existing  all  along  the  disordered  borders  of  the  States  at 
war,  favorable  to  the  grossest  abuses  on  the  part  of  un 
worthy  men,  who,  as  spies  or  messengers,  couriers,  or 
licensed  agents,  under  the  Act  of  Congress  referred  to, 
often  brought  about  the  arrest,  imprisonment,  prosecution, 
and  so-called  punishment  of  perfectly  innocent  men,  citi 
zens,  and  residents  of  the  loyal  States. 

Of  all  the  employees  who  became  personally  known  to 
me,  Pardon  Worsley  was  the  most  unscrupulous,  the 
most  criminal,  and  the  most  mischievous.  He  was  nomi 
nally  a  Union  spy,  and  to  enable  him  the  better  to  execute 
his  missions,  he  was  a  licensed  dealer  within  the  enemies' 
lines,  and  of  course,  to  secure  the  confidence  of  his  cus 
tomers,  he  occasionally  furnished  information  to  the  rebel 
generals.  This  was  his  pretense ;  known  as  a  blockade 
runner,  he  was  furnished  with  special  permits  from  General 
Augur  to  purchase  goods  with  which  to  ply  his  pretended 
vocation  of  Union  spy.  These  permits  he  exhibited  to  his 
intended  victims,  and  by  their  aid  made  large  purchases  of 
dealers  in  Washington,  and  much  larger  of  two  wholesale 
dealers  in  Baltimore.  All  of  these  dealers  were  arrested 
and  tried  before  military  commissions  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  and  several  were  convicted  before  General 
Doubleday's  court.  The  case  against  the  Rasters,  of 
Baltimore,  was  tried  at  great  length  by  young  General 
Fessenden's  court,  consuming  weeks  of  time.1 

1  In  this  trial,  Archibald  Stirling  and  C.  J.  M.  Gwynn,  son-in-law  of 
Reverdy  Johnson,  and  later  Attorney-General  of  Maryland,  of  Baltimore, 


1864]  MILITARY  COMMISSIONS.  311 

The  case  of  the  Rasters  followed  that  of  the  Wash 
ington  parties,  Johnson  and  Sutton,  and  was  succeeded 
by  that  of  the  clothing-house  parties  of  Baltimore,  and 
others. 

I  had  more  than  one  interview  with  Secretary  Stanton 
and  the  President,  in  which  I  urged  every  argument  that 
seemed  worthy  of  consideration,  to  induce  the  abandon 
ment  of  this  mode  of  dealing  with  offenders  not  connected 
with  the  military  service.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  become  shaky 
on  the  subject.  Stanton,  though  a  thoroughly  educated 
lawyer,  who  must  have  acquired  a  lawyer's  instinct  for  ad 
herence  to  the  constituted  judicial  forms,  remained 
inflexible.1 

At  length  the  Milligan  case,  in  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  put  an  end  to  this  in  every  way  illegal 
and  discreditable  practice. 

Landin  P.  Milligan,  a  citizen  of  Indiana,  was  arrested 
October  5,  1864,  by  order  of  General  Hovey,  Command 
ant  of  the  District  of  Indiana,  and  on  the  2istwas  put  on 
trial  before  a  military  commission  at  Indianapolis,  on 
charges  preferred  by  Judge-Advocate  Major  Burnett,  first, 
for  conspiracy  against  the  government ;  second,  for  giving 
aid  to  the  rebels  ;  third,  for  inciting  insurrection,  etc. 

Milligan,  who  belonged  to  the  Order  of  American 
Knights,  was  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  death  by 
hanging,  on  the  igth  of  May,  1865.  The  President  ap 
proved  of  the  record,  but  ordered  that  execution  should  be 
delayed.  Milligan  applied  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  the 
United  States,  setting  up  the  record,  praying  to  be  dis- 

and  Governor  Tom  Ford,  were  with  me,  examining  the  witnesses.  The 
labor  of  making  and  reading  the  defense  was  performed  by  me.  But  one 
was  convicted — Weedon  A.  Clark. 

1  Me  ironically  said  that  an  abandonment  of  the  military  courts  for  the 
trial  of  civilians  would  diminish  my  revenues,  and  that  I  ought  not  to  com 
plain.  He  was  restive  under  my  appearance  for  the  defendants,  but  I  was 
under  no  general  retainer  by  the  United  States,  and  my  sympathies  were 
with  those  thus  needlessly  prosecuted. 


312  RECOLLECTIONS  OF   WAR    TIMES.  [1862- 

charged  on  habeas  corpus.  In  that  court  there  was  a  dis 
agreement  on  three  material  points  :  Ought  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  to  be  issued  ?  Ought  said  Milligan  to  be 
discharged  on  the  showing  ?  Had  the  military  commis 
sion  jurisdiction  to  try  said  Milligan  ? 

In  the  Supreme  Court,  McDonald,  Judge  Black,  James 

A.  Garfield,  and  David  Dudley  Field,  appeared  for  Milli 
gan,  and  Attorney-General  Speed,  Henry  Stanbery,  and 

B.  F.  Butler  for  the  United  States.    Garfield  won  his  spurs 
in  this  great  cause.     Speed  and  Butler  argued  the  case  for 
the  United  States. 

At  the  end  of  the  term  the  Chief-Justice  announced  the 
points  decided  ;  Milligan  was  discharged,  as  were  the 
parties  in  two  other  cases.  The  opinion  was  delivered 
by  Justice  David  Davis,  the  great  personal  friend  of  Mr. 
Lincoln. 

On  the  main  point  the  Court  declared  that  in  a  State 
not  invaded  and  not  engaged  in  the  rebellion,  in  which 
the  federal  courts  were  in  the  unobstructed  exercise  of 
their  powers,  military  courts  had  no  jurisdiction  to  try 
convict,  and  sentence  a  citizen  who  was  not  a  resident  of 
a  rebellious  State,  not  a  prisoner  of  war,  nor  in  the  mili 
tary  or  naval  service,  and  that  Congress  could  not  invest 
them  with  any  such  power.1 

This  was  the  end  of  these  abnormal  courts,  and  all  the 
victims  of  the  great  mistakes,  who  were  still  in  custody, 
were  at  once  set  at  large.' 

The  Chief-Justice  was  Salmon  P.  Chase,  appointed 
during  October,  1864." 

1  4  Wallace,  United  States  Reports,  p.  2. 

2  Major  Burnett,  who  prosecuted  the  case,  was  a  rapidly  rising  young  law 
yer  of  Ohio,  well  known  to  me.     Mr.  Stanton,  on  Burnett's  application, 
desired  that  I  should  aid  him  before  the  Commission.     Fortunately  my  en 
gagements  rendered  that  impossible. 

8  The  request  for  his  appointment  came  from  all  parts  of  the  Union 
States.  The  old  anti-slavery  men  were  very  urgent,  nor  was  there  any  other 
name  prominently  before  the  President.  But  Mr.  Lincoln  was  slow  to  act. 


1864]  MILITARY  COMMISSIONS.  313 

and  Mr.  Chase  desired  that  I  should  interview  the  President  on  this  grave 
matter.  I  undertook  it  reluctantly,  but  his  wish  was  law. 

Mr.  LINCOLN. — "  Do  you  expect  that  Chase  will  relinquish  his  desire  ta 
become  President  ?  " 

Mr.  RIDDLE. — "  Mr.  Chase's  ambition  springs  from  a  consciousness  of 
great  ability  to  serve.  It  is  said  that  a  man  once  bitten  of  the  Presidency 
dies  of  it." 

Mr.  LINCOLN. — "  I  should  deplore  seeing  a  man  trying  to  swap  the  Chief- 
Justiceship  for  the  Presidency." 

Mr.  RIDDLE. — "  Mr.  President,  you  are  fully  aware  that  Mr.  Chase  is  a 
man  of  the  most  elevated  character,  and  that  personal  dignity  in  him  rises  to- 
grandeur.  A  traffic  such  as  you  suggest  would  be  impossible. 

"  There  is  a  consideration  which  I  beg  to  suggest.  The  weighty  matters 
involved  in  this  war  have  been  thoroughly  discussed  by  Congress  and  the 
President.  They  are  undergoing  the  arbitrament  of  battle.  They  will  next 
inevitably  be  submitted  to  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  last  and  final  human 
decision.  Do  you  know  a  man  in  the  world  to  whom  you  would  sooner 
submit  them  ?  " 

Mr.  LINCOLN. — "Would  you  have  me  pack  the  Supreme  Court,  Mr. 
Riddle?" 

Mr.  RIDDLE. — "Would  you  appoint  a  man  with  no  preconceived  notions 
of  law  ?  There  is  not  a  man  at  our  bar  whom  you  or  I  would  call  a 
lawyer,  who  has  not  convictions  on  these  questions." 

Mr.  LINCOLN. — "  This  is  matter  for  reflection."     And  I  took  leave. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

1862-1864. 
STANTON   AS   SECRETARY   OF   WAR. 

The  Time  :  Its  Needs  and  Labor — The  Man — Reminiscences — A  Case — 
The  Raw  Conditions  at  the  Great  Genesis. 

CONGRESS  became  an  agency  for  the  evolution  of  a 
great  purpose  which  no  one  had  yet  formulated. 

No  one  unaided  by  memory  can  have  a  just  apprehen 
sion  of  the  chaotic  condition  of  things  in  the  minds  of  the 
men  then  found  in  Congress,  the  cause  of  which  rested  in 
each  man's  individuality,  his  intelligence,  and  reach  of 
thought. 

The  crisis  was  caused  by  a  race  movement,  as  in  primi 
tive  time,  blindly  in  the  right  direction.  For  the  time 
government  was  a  powerless  form.  No  excesses  were 
committed,  for  observance  of  order  had  become  the  law  of 
the  born  American's  nature ;  when  he  is  lawless  it  is  that 
law  may  be  better  enforced.  Emperors  and  kings  look 
upon  the  American  as  a  paradox — the  freest  but  most  con 
servative  of  mortals.  In  any  other  nation,  the  primal  bond 
of  association  would  for  the  time  have  disappeared  ;  in  ours, 
the  Peace  Convention  sat  and  survived  its  own  work. 
Leaders,  armies,  new  projectiles  were  in  demand  ;  the  con 
flict  must  be  purely  material.  The  first  armed  collisions 
settled  nothing,  but  that  war  was  to  be.  No  American 
general  on  either  side  had  then  seen  20,000  of  his  country- 

314 


1862-18641     STANTON  AS  SECRETARY  OF  WAR.  315 

men  in  a  body  under  arms ;  Santa  Anna's  Mexicans  at 
Buena  Vista  were  the  largest  army  that  any  of  them  had 
ever  beheld  ;  no  one  of  them  had  a  conception  of  a  great 
continental  war,  its  course,  nor  strategy  ;  Caesar,  Napoleon, 
the  latest  writers,  could  only  furnish  them  hints.  These 
human  atoms,  highly  charged,  were  to  be  wrought  into 
effective  armed  bodies,  and  generals  to  command  them 
were  to  be  discovered  and  trained.  The  660,000  were  units, 
not  soldiers,  in  fragmentary  regiments  scattered  through 
the  North — ineffective,  useless,  awaiting  the  man  to  bring 
about  cohesion  and  organization.  Who  he  would  be,  when 
he  would  come,  were  sore  problems.  We  were  familiarized 
with  carnage  ;  war  was  yet  to  be  organized  and  men  drawn 
into  it  of  volition  ;  there  was  no  compulsory  process.  The 
later  conscription,  with  its  twelve  exceptions,  was  a  sieve 
that  let  everybody  through  ;  300,000  were  called  for  under 
it ;  the  conscription  produced  50,000  only.  For  a  long 
time  Congress  refused  to  amend  the  system.  A  man  who 
could  grasp  these  conditions,  take  the  raw  units,  transmute 
them  into  soldiers,  sustain  them,  hurl  them  against  the 
enemy, — a  man  inflexible  to  cruelty,  firm  to  obstinacy,  wil 
ful  to  despotism,  was  needed, — a  warrior  born,  one  who 
loved  relentless  fight  as  the  dearest  of  things  (no  other  can 
make  successful  war), — a  man  inhuman  if  need  be,  not  see 
ing  nor  feeling  small  scruples  nor  obstacles  but  to  overcome 
them,  and  knowing  what  there  is  in  men  and  the  ways  to 
make  them  most  available. 

It  matters  little  how  such  men  as  Stanton  are  trained,  they 
get  growth  by  any  regimen.  He  was  forty-seven  years  old, 
with  perfected  frame  and  health,  when  called  to  the  posi 
tion  of  Secretary  of  War.  We  were  all  surprised  by  the 
name ;  few  of  us  knew  anything  of  him  save  as  Mr. 
Buchanan's  Attorney-General,  and  what  he  had  really 
done  in  his  Cabinet  had  not  transpired — Judge  Black  had 
resigned  that  post  upon  becoming  Mr.  Buchanan's  Secre 
tary  of  State,  and  had  him  appointed  to  it. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.  11862- 

In  the  early  night  of  a  wintry  day  Senator  Pearce,  of 
Maryland,  told  some  of  us  that  Stanton  was  Secretary  of 
War;  "Wade  answered  for  him  to  the  Republicans,"  he 
said.  Wade's  word  satisfied  us ;  we  cared  nothing  for  re 
publicanism,  as  such,  then  ;  that  he  was  a  Democrat  en 
hanced  his  value.  I  had  known  of  him  as  a  lawyer  in  his 
native  Steubenville,  and  called  early  to  pay  my  respects. 
He  was  alone,  received  me  courteously,  speaking  in  a  low 
musical  voice,  which,  as  I  was  to  observe,  could  be  lower, 
softer,  even  sweet,  under  the  excitement  of  anger  ;  a  round, 
compactly  built,  personable  man,  with  short  limbs,  small 
hands  and  feet,  thick  neck,  large  round  head,  with  black 
brows,  and  long,  curling  black  hair,  the  lower  face  lost  in  a 
grizzly  beard.  His  eyes  were  very  striking — large  and 
liquid  like  some  women's,  they  were  mysterious,  to  me 
seeming  to  have  a  message,  and  looking  reproach  that  I 
did  not  understand  it.  We  had  much  to  do  with  the  War 
Office — all  had  good  men  for  the  army  and  wanted  orders 
for  new  regiments,  batteries,  etc.  Orders  for  two  or  three 
of  mine  had  been  made  by  Mr.  Cameron  ;  something  from 
the  new  Secretary  (as  of  course  I  thought)  was  wanted  to 
give  them  effect ;  I  sought  this  early ;  he  refused  flatly, 
and  ungraciously  cancelled  his  predecessor's  action.  I 
lingered  an  instant  to  recover  myself,  and  said  very  quietly, 
that  "  They  were  the  only  things  I  had  asked." 

The  Secretary  (in  the  sweetest,  most  exasperating  voice) 
replied  :  "  I  permit  no  man  to  address  me  in  such  lan 
guage."  "  Mr.  Secretary,"  I  said,  with  a  profound  bow, 
"  permit  me  to  retire,  and  with  final  leave"  That  was  not 
the  end  but  a  beginning.  It  was  the  time  of  McClellan's 
advance,  when  no  man  of  the  army  could  get  leave.  Three 
days  later  a  surgeon  came  to  me  from  a  hospital  with  the 
case  of  an  officer  dying  of  camp  diarrhoea  and  homesick 
ness  ;  the  only  hope  was  leave  to  return  home ;  the  Presi 
dent  would  not  interfere,  and  there  was  nothing  but  to 
appeal  to  the  black-browed,  inflexible,  soft-voiced  Secretary 


18641  STAN  TON  AS  SECRETARY  OF  WAR.  317 

of  War.  I  went  to  him  direct — he  might  have  the  quali 
ties  that  would  make  him  gracious  to  me, —  I  made  him  no 
bow,  stated  the  case  in  the  fewest  words,  and  laid  the  pa 
pers  on  his  desk,  before  which  he  stood,  on  a  raised  step,  his 
invariable  working  position  ;  glancing  at  me,  his  first  words, 
with  his  eyes  on  the  paper,  were,  "  Twenty  days  is  too 
short."  He  made  it  thirty,  and  added  his  all-powerful 
initials.  Pushing  the  papers  to  me,  he  said  in  a  cheery 
voice :  "  Something  happened  here  the  other  day  which  I 
would  have  prevented, — what  did  you  then  wish  ?  "  "  Mr. 
Secretary,  my  present  wish  is  to  get  these  papers  back. 
When  you  are  at  leisure  I  will  call,"  I  replied.  "  I  am  sure 
you  wish  nothing  but  the  best  service  and  can  help  me," 
he  added. 

Mr.  Stanton  in  the  War  Office  was  at  once  everywhere 
felt — through  the  camps,  hospitals,  recruiting  stations,  and 
notably  in  Congress  and  the  Cabinet.  The  grasp  of  his 
nervous  hand  on  the  limitless  power  of  his  department, 
which  was  then  not  well  defined,  sent  a  thrill  through  the 
land.  With  most  men  not  specially  trained,  the  first  idea 
of  war  then  was  collision  at  once  with  the  enemy,  and 
there  was  a  forward  movement  immediately.  That  may 
not  have  been  McClellan's  idea  ;  all  but  he  advanced.  If 
not  actual  war,  it  led  to  war,  organized  and  aggressive, 
without  compromise  or  treaty — Stanton  would  never  hear 
of  that, — a  war  for  the  extinction  of  the  enemy  as  such. 
The  continent  was  the  arena,  the  resources  of  the  American 
people  the  means,  the  existence  of  the  Republic  the  issue. 

A  vast  amount  of  preliminary  work  was  performed,  the 
skeleton  regiments  were  consolidated  and  sent  to  the  front, 
every  department  and  branch  reorganized  and  made  effec 
tive.  In  the  rush  of  all  sorts  of  persons  into  the  service 
as  officers,  a  mob  of  incompetent,  inefficient  men  had  be 
come  a  serious  evil.  Congress  promptly  passed,  at  the 
Secretary's  wish,  a  law  authorizing  the  summary  dismissal 
of  officers  by  the  President  at  discretion — the  discretion 


318  RECOLLECTIONS   OF    WAR    TIMES.  [1862- 

of  the  Secretary  of  War.  "  Move  or  be  removed  "  was 
his  rule  ;  the  incompetent  were  thinned  out.  Undoubtedly 
there  were  individual  instances  of  hardship.  How  could 
that  be  avoided  ?  The  Nation  was  in  its  death-struggle  ; 
a  pause  of  the  great  leader,  a  relaxation  in  the  awful  ten 
sion  of  the  spring  of  the  War  Office,  which  pushed  the 
army  upon  the  foe,  would  have  been  fatal ;  a  man  in  that 
place  who  would  be  turned  aside  to  search  out  nice  details 
could  never  have  decided  the  issue  in  our  favor. 

Mr.  Stanton  was  capable  of  arduous  and  long-continued 
work  beyond  most  men  with  whom  history  is  familiar,  and 
his  days  and  nights  were  given  to  it.  He  lived  in  the  War 
Office,  literally  ;  his  bed  was  there  ;  his  food  was  there ; 
his  presence  in  his  own  household  was  a  rare  event.  He 
bravely  assumed  responsibility,  leaving  the  President  the 
full  measure  of  praise,  the  fame  of  benefactions  arid  favors, 
and  shouldered  the  odium  that  followed  many  needed  acts. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  war  fought  itself ;  that  by  a 
process  of  selection  it  supplied  itself  with  soldiers,  gener 
als,  legislation ;  its  mishaps  were  due  to  those  thrust  upon 
it  in  spite  of  itself.  In  part  this  is  true,  and  though  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  the  Secretary  of  War  ever  directly 
changed  his  mind  on  cumulative  evidence,  he  was  under 
the  influence  of  this  force,  as  were  the  President,  Con 
gress,  the  generals,  and  the  people  who  furnished  them  all. 
Commanders  could  only  be  selected  tentatively;  no  one 
could  tell  a  priori  who  would  prove  himself  a  general  any 
more  than  who  will  be  the  great  man  of  forty  years  hence. 
They  appeared,  as  will  the  future  great,  from  unexpected 
quarters.  That  McClellan  failed  in  the  field  as  the  com 
mander  of  a  great  army  scarcely  admits  of  argument.  He 
retired  to  become  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party. 
Individually  the  Democrats  hated  the  Secretary  of  War ; 
they  soon  hated  him  with  added  party  intensity  ;  it  was 
an  article  of  faith,  and  none  the  less  because  he  was  a 
Democrat. 


1864]  STANTON  AS  SECRETARY  OF  WAR.  319 

Sherman  has  told  the  tale  of  his  personal  wrongs.1  Can 
any  man  read  that  and  acquit  the  great  leader  of  grave 
faults?  He  calls  it  "  my  folly"  in  his  account  of  it.  In 
the  pardonable  exuberance  of  feeling  at  the  great  success 
to  which  he  had  so  largely  contributed,  he  permitted  the 
rebels  to  dictate  the  terms  of  their  submission  to  him,  by 
which  they  alone  were  to  lose  nothing  by  the  war.  No 
matter  what  Stanton  may  have  said  to  him  at  Savannah, 
he  knew  the  Secretary  had  no  power  to  determine  the 
status  of  the  rebel  States  as  political  bodies.  On  the  grand 
stand,  with  his  army  passing  in  review,  in  the  presence 
of  the  President,  Cabinet,  and  representatives  of  foreign 
nations,  the  Secretary  of  War  arose,  met  and  proffered 
him  his  hand,  in  token  of  mutual  amnesty  and  oblivion — 
asking  and  giving  ;  Sherman  not  only  refused  his  own, 
but  ten  years  later  boasted  of  it — one  of  the  pitiable  tales 
of  the  war. 

There  were  but  a  few  of  the  more  conspicuous  men 
made  enemies,  to  be  supplemented  by  the  convicts  of 
all  the  military  commissions,  the  cry  against  which — as 
against  him  and  against  Mr.  Lincoln  upon  his  account — 
was  a  war-cry  in  the  presidential  contest  of  1864.  The 
sum  of  these  odiums  was  greater  than  ever  before  charged 
against  any  man  in  our  history,  and,  as  may  be  seen,  pos 
sibly  not  even  the  smallest  part  of  it  was  his  due.  To  de 
termine  this  would  require  a  careful  examination  of  every 
case ;  to  claim  that  in  no  instance  was  he  in  fault,  would 
be  to  proclaim  him  superhuman,  and  he  was  greatly 
human.  Whoever  declares,  in  any  important  case,  that  he 
acted  consciously  from  motives  other  than  for  the  public 
good,  makes  an  averment  that  will  forever  remain 
unproved. 

One  purpose  only  controlled  the  action  of  Mr.  Stanton 
— the  utter  overthrow  of  the  rebellion — to  war  against  and 
pursue  it  to  extinction,  root  and  seed.  It  was  for  this 

1  Sherman! s  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.,  beginning  at  p.  346. 


320  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR   TIMES.  [1862- 

he  accepted  a  place  in  the  evil  days — the  last  of  days  they 
were  near  being — in  Mr.  Buchanan's  Cabinet,  where,  in  a 
fierce  philippic,  he  assumed  his  true  position  as  extermi 
nator  of  the  rebellion.  For  this  purpose  he  coveted  the 
War  Office  later  ;  whatever  best  tended  to  that  object  he 
would  undertake  ;  for  no  other  purpose  would  he  work. 
No  scruples  of  the  Constitution  disturbed  him  ;  when  it 
was  urged  that  a  proposed  measure  had  no  warrant  in  that 
instrument,  "  Was  the  country  made  for  the  Constitu 
tion  ?  "  he  asked  in  his  sweetest  voice.  On  another  occa 
sion,  with  soft  tones,  "  When  the  country  is  gone  it  will 
be  a  comfort  to  know  that  the  Constitution  is  saved."  A 
raid  was  to  be  organized  upon  remote  Andersonville  ;  he 
would  not  hear  of  it.  Men  had  suffered  and  died  ;  more 
must  do  the  same.  He  would  deal  concentrated  blows  with 
the  last  fibre  of  power  upon  the  armed  foe. 

Stanton  never  could  have  said  to  Sherman  at  Savannah 
the  things  attributed  to  him.  Less  effusive  than  his  chief, 
his  vision  at  times  seemed  clearer,  further-reaching.  He  was 
more  thoughtful,  if  less  magnanimous  in  victory,  but  no  man 
was  ever  more  easily  moved  by  native  tenderness  to  mercy 
when  approached  on  the  sweeter  side  of  his  sympathies.1 

1  An  educated  young  Irishman,  a  gentleman,  was  induced  by  my  nominal 
partner  to  enter  the  army.  Influence  secured  him  the  post  of  captain's  clerk 
in  a  company  stationed  near  Washington.  In  midwinter  of  '64-5  a  letter 
from  his  young  wife  informed  him  that  she  would  sail  from  Liverpool  for  New 
York  on  a  day  named,  expecting  confinement  in  childbirth,  about  the  time  of 
arrival  there.  Neither  had  friends  nor  acquaintances  in  America.  The  young 
soldier  applied  for  leave  to  meet  her  and  was  refused — this  occurred  at  about 
the  time  of  the  fall  of  Richmond.  In  despair,  he  resumed  his  civilian's  garb, 
escaped,  and  made  his  way  to  New  York.  His  girl-wife  had  been  confined  on 
shipboard  and  lost  her  baby  ;  they  made  their  way  to  Washington  to  find  him 
posted  as  a  deserter.  An  attempt  was  made  to  reach  the  inexorable  Secre 
tary  through  Mrs.  Stanton  and  others,  but  shut  away  in  his  office  he  was 
too  well  guarded.  The  case  was  desperate  ;  my  English  clerk  finally  brought 
them  to  me.  I  asked  him  to  write  a  condensed  statement  in  his  best  hand 
— which  was  wonderful  penmanship.  When  finished  the  words  were  the 
fewest,  the  chirography  the  most  striking  and  beautiful, — it  made  the  pathos 
and  appeal  a  vision.  I  went  with  it  to  the  Secretary.  He  had  an  unusual 


18641  STAN  TON  AS  SECRETARY  OF  WAR.  321 

In  1862  the  Legislature  of  Indiana  adjourned  without 
appropriations  to  carry  on  the  State  Government.  Gov 
ernor  Morton  went  to  Stanton  for  advice,  and  the  Secre 
tary  at  once  drew  a  warrant  on  the  Treasury  fora  quarter 
of  a  million,  payable  to  Morton's  order.  "  If  the  Cause 
fails,"  said  the  Governor,  "  you  and  I  will  be  covered 
with  prosecutions,  imprisoned,  driven  from  the  country  " 
— a  curious  speech  for  Morton.  "  If  the  Cause  fails  "  (in 
his  softest  voice),  "  I  do  not  care  to  live,"  was  Stanton's 
response.  He  was  the  man  around  whom  the  great 
war  governors — Andrew,  Curtin,  Brough,  Morton,  and 
Oglesby — gathered  directly. 

There  were  some  sharp  differences  between  the  Secre 
tary  and  his  chief,  in  which  the  Secretary  had  his  way,  as 
was  best  undoubtedly.  General  Weitzel  did  have  per 
mission  from  the  President  to  convene  the  rebel  legislature 
at  Richmond,  after  its  fall.  It  was  recalled  at  the  urgent 
request  of  Stanton.  The  order  to  Grant  to  limit  terms 
with  Lee  to  purely  military  affairs  was  his  work.1 

surrounding  of  distinguished  visitors,  and  was  in  his  own  anteroom,  sitting 
opposite  the  door.  He  saw  me  and  beckoned  me  forward  ;  I  held  the  manu 
script  open  to  his  eyes.  "  What  is  it  ?  Tell  me,"  he  said  ;  but  that  was 
not  my  purpose.  The  text  caught  his  eye,  the  tale  caught  his  attention  ;  as  he 
read  he  arose  and  moved,  reading,  toward  the  desk  across  the  room.  "  I  '11 
doit;  I '11  do  it,"  he  said  to  himself.  "I  would  have  done  that  myself. 
The  man  who  would  not,  is  not  fit  for  a  soldier."  He  opened  and  glanced  at 
the  inside  of  a  small  file,  and  indorsed  on  the  back  :  "  This  soldier's  absence 
is  justified.  He  will  report  for  duty.  His  captain  will  see  this  order 
executed.  Stanton,  Secretary."  Pushing  the  papers  to  me,  he  told  the  story, 
in  tremulous  voice,  to  the  attentive  senators,  generals,  governors,  and  others 
present,  repeating  :  "I  would  have  done  it  myself.  The  man  who  would 
not,  is  not  fit  for  a  soldier."  With  the  papers  I  hurried  to  the  sad,  brown- 
eyed  girl,  leaving  the  Secretary's  visitors  wondering  at  the  revelation  of  his 
unsuspected  nature.  This  was  not  a  solitary  instance,  no  one  felt  an  inclina 
tion  to  relate  similar  cases,  and  never  in  any  instance  did  he  say  a  word  or 
cause  the  contradiction  of  the  injurious  stories  told  against  him.  He  was 
like  Seward  in  this  respect. 

1  See  Supplement  B,  Mr.  Riddle's  address  to  the  meeting  of  the  Washing 
ton  Bar  on  the  demise  of  the  ex-Secretary. 


322  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.  [1862- 

During  my  service  in  the  House,  I  made  very  few  ac 
quaintances  with  the  resident  people  of  the  District,  and 
seldom  met  any  of  them.  My  residence  brought  me 
more  directly  in  contact,  and  I  found  among  them  many 
brave  and  ardent  patriots.  Conspicuously  so  were  Mr. 
Lewis  Clephane  and  Mr.  Sayles  J.  Bowen,  both  in  the 
public  service.  These  gentlemen  and  their  associates  had 
formed  a  patriotic  club  to  aid  the  Union  cause  by  all 
means  in  their  power,  and  especially  to  aid  the  heads  of 
the  departments  in  the  necessary  labor  of  clarifying  the 
civil  service  of  the  large  disloyal  element  found  in  every 
branch  of  it.  Washington  was,  from  the  first,  open  to 
entrance  and  exit,  and  practically  remained  so  till  Lee's 
surrender.  Alexandria  was  held  in  enforced  loyalty,  and 
communication  both  by  river  and  railroad  maintained 
between  the  two  cities  ;  no  one  was  obliged  to  secure  a 
permit,  unless  to  enter  the  rebel  lines.  Much  of  the  con 
traband  communication  between  the  enemy  and  their 
numerous  and  active  friends  in  Washington  was  kept  up 
by  women  messengers  and  carriers ;  their  garments  be 
came  literally  a  mantle  of  charity.  With  a  corps  of  trained 
detectives,  Baker's  headquarters  were  constantly  enlivened 
by  tales  of  the  adventures  of  these  fair  "  Secesh  "  block 
ade-runners.1 

The  first  jury  case  in  which  I  was  engaged  before  the 
District  Supreme  Court  was  a  suit  for  libel  against  Mr. 
Clephane.  As  chairman  of  his  committee  he  had  reported 
to  Mr.  Stanton  that  a  clerk  in  the  War  Office  was  disloyal, 
and  gave  particulars.  The  Secretary  promptly  removed 
the  clerk.  A  friend  sent  a  copy  of  Mr.  Clephane's  com 
munication  to  the  party  accused,  who  promptly  com 
menced  an  action  for  libel.  On  the  trial  to  a  subpcena 
duces  tecum  the  Secretary  personally  appeared,  and  made 

1  The  Secret  Service^  by  General  Baker,  has  many  varying  accounts  of 
their  adventures,  and  there  has  sprung  up  quite  a  literature,  the  heroines  of 
which  are  from  the  ranks  of  this  useful  service. 


1864] 


STAN  TON  AS  SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 


323 


return  with  an  affidavit  that  the  communication  was 
privileged.  On  argument,  Justice  Olin  so  ruled,  and  then 
absurdly  held  that  an' action  could  be  maintained  upon  it, 
and  the  plaintiff  could  prove  the  writing  by  a  copy.  The 
jury  returned  a  heavy  verdict,  and  we  took  the  case  to  the 
General  Term,  which  reversed  it,  Olin  giving  the  opinion 
of  the  court.1 

1  This  case  brought  me  professionally  under  Mr.  Stanton's  notice.  The 
answer  to  the  subpoena  was  made  and  prepared  under  my  advice,  and  led  to 
my  employment  by  him  in  many  cases.  Colonel  Wm.  A.  Cook  appeared 
with  me  in  the  case. 

I  may  here  add  that  many  of  the  Northern  States  had  agents  stationed  at 
the  Capital  to  look  after  their  soldiers  and  military  interests  generally  ;  Mr. 
Cook  was  the  resident  agent  of  Pennsylvania,  and  hence  his  title.  I  was  em 
ployed  in  the  case  at  his  instance. 


CHAPTER   XLV. 
CONGRESS— SECOND  SESSION. 

DECEMBER,    1864— APRIL,    1865. 

The  Thirteenth  Amendment — Rebel   Prisoners  of  War — Rebel  Prisons — 
The  Evacuation  of  Richmond. 

THE  38th  Congress  convened  for  its  second  session  on 
the  5th  of  December,  1864.  Those  familiar  with  the  1 3th, 
and  greatest,  of  the  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  will 
remember  that  it  passed  the  Senate  March  28th,  of  the 
first  session,  by  38  to  6.  The  members  of  the  House,  as 
will  be  remembered,  had  been  elected  in  the  dark  days  of 
1862  ;  the  amendment  was  brought  to  vote  there  on  the 
I4th  of  June  ;  the  vote  showed  93  for  to  65  against  it,  and 
23  not  voting ;  among  these  last  were  Henry  Winter 
Davis,  Theodore  M.  Pomeroy,  and  several  other  Repub 
licans.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  this  measure  greatly  at  heart. 
Early  in  this  second  session,  after  long  and  earnest  consul 
tation,  the  task  of  securing  the  requisite  two  thirds  of  the 
House  for  a  final  struggle  was  committed  to  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Ashley  of  Ohio.  The  trouble  now  would  not  be  with 
any  of  the  Republicans,  but  two  or  three  Democrats  were 
absolutely  necessary.  Finally  we  were  told,  in  confidence 
of  course,  that  Mr.  Ashley  could  report  the  acquisition. 
A  New  Yorker  greatly  desired  a  federal  place  in  New 
York  ;  he  had  a  brother,  a  Democrat,  in  the  House,  who 

324 


Dec. '64-April'651     CONGRESS — SECOND  SESSION.  325 

was  assured  that  his  vote  for  the  abolishing  amendment 
would  largely  augment  his  brother's  chances.  There  was 
also  a  contest  for  a  seat  in  the  next  House — a  Democrat 
in  the  present  House  was  a  party  to  that  contest ;  he 
came  to  see  that  the  result  would  depend  entirely  upon 
his  vote  on  the  impending  1 3th  amendment.  It  was  found 
necessary  to  secure  the  absence  of  one  Democrat  from  the 
House  on  the  day  of  the  vote.  A  railroad  in  Pennsylvania 
was  threatened  with  the  passage  of  a  bill  by  Congress 
greatly  adverse  to  its  interests  —  the  bill  was  in  Mr. 
Sumner's  hands,  ready  to  be  reported ;  the  road  had 
struggled  to  have  action  on  the  bill  deferred  till  the  next 
Congress — thus  far  without  avail.  The  lawyer  for  the 
railroad  was  a  Democratic  member  of  the  present 
House. 

The  vote  was  taken  in  that  body  on  the  I4th  of  Janu 
ary,  1865,  and  resulted  in  there  being  119  for  and  56 
against,  8  not  voting.  The  amendment  was  carried  ; 
upon  the  announcement  of  the  result  the  Republicans 
breaking  into  the  wildest  demonstrations  of  joy  and  ex 
citement.  When  that  subsided,  they  adjourned  the 
House,  and  the  demonstrations  were  renewed. 

As  I  was  informed,  the  two  Democrats  voted  for  the 
amendment,  and  the  railroad's  lawyer  was  taken  so  ill  that 
he  could  not  be  carried  to  the  House  ;  the  New  Yorker 
had  the  coveted  post ;  the  Democrat  secured  his  seat  in 
the  39th  Congress,  and  the  august  Sumner  did  not  report 
the  bill  during  that  session.1 

Late  in  December,  1864,  the  earnest  attention  of  both 
Houses  was  turned  to  the  condition  of  our  soldiers  held 
in  rebel  prisons.  It  was  said  that  the  enemy  held  about 
45,000  of  ours,  and  that  we  had  80,000  or  90,000  of  theirs. 
Just  why  there  was  not  an  exchange  was  a  sore  prob- 

1  I  do  not  vouch  for  the  means  employed  to  secure  the  Democrats. 
Everything  else  is  a  matter  of  record,  and  warrants  the  belief  of  its 
truth. 


326  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [Dec.  1864- 

lem  to  Congress.  Mr.  Cox  offered  a  resolution  of  inquiry 
as  to  why  an  exchange  was  not  made ;  Mr.  Stevens 
thought  it  a  reflection  on  the  War  Office,  but  after  some 
debate  the  resolution  was  adopted. 

In  January,  1865,  Mr.  Wade  introduced  a  joint  resolu 
tion  in  the  Senate,  prescribing  the  same  treatment  for  the 
rebel  soldiers  in  our  hands  as  that  given  to  ours  held  by 
them.  The  resolution  provoked  much  discussion,  and  the 
whole  ground  was  gone  over  with  great  feeling  and  much 
earnestness.  Mr.  Sumner  proposed  and  procured  the 
adoption  of  an  amendment  modifying  the  character  of  the 
resolution  to  one  condemnatory  of  the  practice  of  the 
enemy,  and  enjoining  a  humane  and  Christian  treatment 
of  the  prisoners  in  our  hands — which  was  adopted. 

On  the  1 8th  of  January,  Mr.  Ganson  of  New  York 
offered  a  resolution  in  the  House  for  thorough  inquiry  as 
to  the  number  and  cause  of  arrest  of  persons  confined  in 
the  old  Capitol  and  Carroll  prisons,  to  be  made  by  the 
Military  Committee  ;  it  was  adopted,  and  Mr.  Stevens  of 
Pennsylvania  moved  a  reconsideration,  which  was  debated 
at  length.  Mr.  Garfield,  who  had  been  to  the  prisons  in 
execution  of  a  resolution,  came  into  the  House  while  the 
debate  was  in  progress,  and  made  a  sharp  speech  against 
the  motion  to  reconsider,  and  this  motion  was  defeated 
by  the  decisive  vote  of  136  yeas  to  5  nays.  This  led  to  a 
general  liberation  of  the  unfortunate  prisoners. 

January  2oth,  the  House  called  upon  the  President, 
Secretary  of  State,  and  Secretary  of  War  to  report  the 
names  of  all  persons  arrested  and  held  for  any  offense 
against  the  United  States  and  still  held  in  custody.  This 
action,  both  as  to  prisoners  of  war  and  prisoners  arrested 
without  due  process  of  law,  showed  a  healthy  sentiment 
in  the  two  Houses  for  the  rights  of  individuals  as  to  their 
liberty  of  person  and  humane  treatment. 

Innumerable  resolutions  and  bills  were  introduced,  de 
bated,  and  disposed  of,  bearing  directly  upon  the  war  ; 


April1865J  CONGRESS— SECOND   SESSION.  327 

upon  each  and  all  of  these,  Senators  and  Representatives 
invariably  divided  on  party  lines. 

One  among  them  was  a  gratuitous  resolution  declaring 
that  rebel  States  were  not  entitled  to  representation  in  the 
Electoral  College  for  the  choice  of  President  and  Vice- 
President  for  the  term  of  office  commencing  March  4, 
1865. 

Through  the  winter  the  Capital  was  free  in  its  imme 
diate  vicinity  from  the  alarms  of  war. 

Something  we  heard  of  that  curious  episode — the  con 
ference  of  the  President  and  Secretary  of  State  with 
Alexander  H.  Stephens,  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  and  John  A. 
Campbell,  held  at  Fortress  Monroe,  on  the  3d  of  Febru 
ary,  1865  ;  it  was  initiated  by  the  elder  Francis  P.  Blair, 
who  visited  Richmond  in  January,  and  the  whole  is  set 
forth  in  Mr.  Seward's  letter  to  Mr.  Adams,  at  the  Court 
of  St.  James,  under  date  of  January  pth,  and  sent  to  the 
Senate  on  its  request. 

The  conference  lasted  four  hours,  without  the  presence 
of  secretaries  or  reporters,  and  was  wholly  oral.  Mr. 
Davis's  envoys  really  wanted  an  armistice ;  Mr.  Lincoln 
wanted  a  disbanding  of  the  rebel  army.  Of  course 
nothing  came  of  it,  for  which  the  Union  men  of  the  Capi 
tal  were  thankful.  It  was  a  pure  pretence  on  the  part  of 
the  South  to  gain  time.  This  plan  failing,  the  rebel 
Congress  passed  an  act  to  arm  their  slaves. 

We  were  sensitive  over  the  planting  of  Maximilian  in 
Mexico,  and  some  of  us  would  have  been  glad  to  see 
50,000  soldiers,  with  Sheridan  at  their  head,  drive  the 
Austrians  off  the  continent.  Yet  we  were  willing  to  see 
this  postponed  until  we  were  in  possession  of  Richmond, 
and  for  that  end  things  were  ripening  faster  than  we 
realized. 

We  knew  that  Sherman  had  reached  Savannah — knew 
of  Hood's  defeat  at  the  decisive  battle  of  Franklin ;  but 
Grant's  inaction  at  City  Point  we  did  not  understand  ;  it 


328  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [Dec.  1864- 

seemed  to  us  like  torpor,  which  we  did  not  at  all  approve 
of.  We  had  watched  the  filling  of  the  quotas  of  the  new 
levy  by  the  States,  and  had  noted  that  the  conscription 
was  peacefully  carried  out.  We  supposed  the  interview 
at  Fortress  Monroe  was  sought  by  the  rebels  in  the  hope 
of  a  respite  in  which  to  recruit.  We  were  confirmed  in 
this  when  we  heard  of  efforts  by  the  Richmond  Govern 
ment  to  strengthen  its  armies,  and  the  enactment  of  laws 
for  arming  the  blacks.  We  felt,  rather  than  knew,  that 
the  Confederacy  was  exhausted,  while  we  were  never  so 
strong,  never  in  such  high  spirits,  so  determined  and  so 
confident ;  surely  the  end  was  near. 

We  had  in  the  field  on  the  ist  of  March,  of  all  arms, 
965,000  men,  of  whom  over  600,000  were  effective  for 
duty.  The  army  of  the  Confederacy  had  been  on  the 
decline  steadily  during  1864  and  the  early  part  of  1865. 

Marching  orders  were  issued  on  the  3 1st  of  January  to 
the  Second,  Fifth,  Sixth,  and  Ninth  Corps  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac.  The  rapid  progress  of  Sherman  war 
ranted  this  movement.  The  indications  of  Lee's  weak 
ness  rapidly  multiplied,  and  toward  the  end  of  March  it 
was  apparent  that  the  collapse  of  the  armed  rebellion  was 
a  thing  of  days,  and  the  President  went  to  the  front  to  be 
on  the  ground  when  the  crisis  culminated. 

On  April  2d,  the  Secretary  of  War  gave  out  two  tele 
graphic  dispatches  from  the  President  of  the  closing 
scenes.  On  the  5th  his  bulletin  to  General  Dix  announced 
the  evacuation  of  Richmond  on  Sunday,  the  dissolution 
of  the  Confederate  Government, — its  Executive  and 
Cabinet  having  fled, — and  of  the  occupation  by  General 
Weitzel.1 

1  I  remember  well  a  little  scene  on  Monday  A.M.,  when  we  heard  of  the 
fall  of  Richmond.  I  was  at  the  War  Office  on  some  business  matter,  when 
a  telegram  to  Mr.  Stanton,  just  received,  was  read  aloud.  In  a  minute  the 
whole  department  was  in  an  uproar  ;  men  rushed  into  each  other's  arms  with 
cries  and  tears  like  long  separated  brothers  or  lovers  \  an  hour  was  required 


April  1865]  CONGRESS — SECOND   SESSION.  329 

On  the  9th  the  terms  of  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appo- 
mattox  were  signed. 

At  ten  o'clock  that  night  Secretary  Stanton  ordered  a 
salute  of  two  hundred  guns  to  be  fired  at  the  Capital,  at 
the  headquarters  of  every  Army  Department  of  the 
United  States,  and  at  every  post  and  arsenal.  On  the 
evening  of  the  nth,  the  White  House,  public  buildings, 
and  Union  residences  were  illuminated.  This  was  the 
real  end  of  the  war  in  the  field,  though  some  soldiers 
were  still  to  be  slain,  and  one  or  two  armies  remained  to 
be  surrendered. 

I  remember  the  day  of  President  Lincoln's  second  in 
auguration.  We  had  access  to  the  roof  of  the  Coloniza 
tion  Building  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  which  gave  a 
commanding  view  of  the  pageant.  It  was  a  warm,  smoky 
day,  with  dun-colored,  cumulus  clouds  floating  up  from 
the  southern  horizon,  with  fitful  yellow  sunshine  and  no 
rain.  A  curious  celestial  phenomenon,  generally  observed 
in  the  city,  appeared  at  about  1 1  A.M.  Almost  directly 
at  the  zenith,  like  a  small,  sharply  pointed  diamond,  shin 
ing  by  its  own  light,  strong  eyes  could  see  a  star.  It  was 
mentioned  in  some  of  the  public  prints  of  the  day,  but 
seems  to  have  passed  from  the  popular  memory.1 

to  reduce  even  the  clerks  to  order,  and  many  did  not  return  to  their  desks 
the  next  day.  And  this  after  four  years  !  Joy  over  great  events  affects  men 
peculiarly.  There  was  in  one  of  the  corridors  a  small  group  of  five  or  six 
distinguished  gentlemen,  when  one  of  them  proposed  to  "all  go  and  get 
drunk."  They  immediately  left  the  building,  and  twenty  minutes  later  I 
met  one  of  the  party  quite  overcome  with  joy  and  whiskey.  The  proposition 
struck  me  then,  and  now,  as  unique,  and  where  they  secured  fluid  of  such 
dynamite  power  I  cannot  imagine.  The  loyal  part  of  the  city  was  quite 
given  up  to  exuberant  rejoicing.  We  heard  something  of  the  mourning  and 
grief  of  the  Southern  sympathizers  ;  many  families  had  husbands,  sons,  or 
brothers  in  the  Southern  army,  or  employed  as  clerks  in  the  departments  at 
Richmond.  We  had  no  notice  of  their  going,  we  knew  nothing  of  their 
return,  and  no  one  was  ever  questioned  for  joining  the  rebels. 

1  Unpleasantly   impressionable,  though    free  from  superstition,  the  sharp 
vision  of  that  star  seemed  to  give  me  a  mental  stab  which  is  always  repro- 


33°    RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR    TIMES.       [Dec,  '64-April  '65 

Lincoln's  inaugural  address  of  the  occasion  was  most 
masterly,  and  regarded  by  some  as  the  best  of  his  many 
remarkable  utterances,  the  last,  and  in  some  respects  the 
most  memorable,  was  in  response  to  a  serenade  at  the 
White  House,  on  the  evening  of  April  nth,  after  his 
return  from  the  last  Virginia  campaign,  in  which  he  dis 
cussed  the  statue  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  re 
developed  something  of  his  plan  for  restoring  them  to 
their  places  in  the  Republic,  which  he  illustrated  in  the 
case  of  Louisiana. 

How  events  of  the  gravest  magnitude  grouped  and 
pressed  each  other  in  these  last  days !  and  the  sad, 
weary  look  of  the  President's  face  seemed  about  to  give 
place  to  serene  satisfaction — when  for  him  the  end  came. 

His  eyes — surely  the  saddest  and  most  solemn  that  ever 
looked  on  the  wars  of  a  sorrowing  world — had  seen  the 
surrender  of  Lee,  his  feet  had  pressed  the  recovered  soil 
of  Virginia,  had  trodden  the  streets  of  the  enemies'  capi 
tal,  and  he  now  saw  himself  ruler  of  the  whole  recovered 
country,  with  no  slaves  upon  its  soil  and  with  no  armed 
foe  within  its  borders. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  linger  over  the  incidents  of 
those  last  days  which  are  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  the 
survivors. 

duced  upon  the  mention  of  that  weird  day.     I  remember  that  the  music  of 
the  bands  was  to  me  like  a  funeral  march. 

It  recalls  the  incident  in  the  inaugural  procession  of  President  Garfield,  in 
which  a  hearse  became  involved  and  moved  a  block  in  front  of  the  Presi 
dent's  carriage. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 
THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

APRIL,    1865. 
L.  C.  Baker's  Wonderful  Detective  Feat — Death  of  Booth. 

THE  events  of  the  night  of  April  14,  1865,  are  ever  at 
my  recall.  Mrs.  Riddle,  a  friend  or  two,  the  younger  of  our 
household,  and  myself,  were  spending  the  evening  quietly 
together  in  our  family-room,  when  a  little  past  9  o'clock 
I  heard  the  quick  step  of  our  eldest  daughter  hurrying 
up  the  stairs  followed  by  the  rapid  tread  of  her  escort — 
they  had  been  at  Ford's  Theatre  to  see  Laura  Keene  in 
Our  American  Cousin.  Throwing  open  the  door,  and  with 
pale,  frightened  face  and  wild  eyes,  she  managed  to  gasp 
out :  "  O  Father  !  Wilkes  Booth  has  shot  the  President. 
He  leaped  down  upon  the  stage  and  rushed  back,  and  im 
mediately  a  tall  man  l  from  the  crowd  rushed  after  him." 
This  was  confirmed  by  the  pale-faced  young  gentleman 
who  stood  in  the  doorway. 

The  savage  old  spirit  to  kill  came  upon  me  again  ;  seiz 
ing  my  Remingtons  and  the  gift  of  my  Cuban  friend,  I 
was  soon  in  the  street.  Already  there  was  a  murmur  of 
excited  voices,  and  a  shiver  of  fright  all  through  the  city. 
It  was  a  square  and  a  half  to  Stanton's  on  K  Street, 

1  Colonel  J.  B.  Stewart  would  certainly  have  captured  Booth  had  not  the 
stage  carpenter  closed  a  door  in  his  face.  He  was  then  a  partner  of  the 
author. 

331 


332  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [April  1865 

where  a  few  were  hastily  gathering  ;  the  thousand-tongued 
rumor  repeated  the  assassination  of  the  President  and 
added  the  names  of  Vice-President  Johnson,  Seward,  and 
others  of  the  Cabinet.  I  rushed  on  to  Seward's — I  knew 
Mr.  Johnson  was  out  of  the  city,  and  came  to  realize 
something  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  conspiracy, 
which  that  night  and  for  several  days  was  supposed  to  in 
clude  a  large  band  of  active  conspirators  in  the  city, 
leagued  to  take  the  lives  of  the  President,  Cabinet  officers, 
and  other  leading  men.  For  a  time  the  structure  of 
the  government  seemed  shattered,  days  passed  and  its 
machinery  moved  by  the  law  of  inertia. 

There  was  a  moon  in  the  half-clouded  sky  that  night, 
lending  a  weird  effect  as  the  shadows  and  lights  moved 
over  the  scene.  Several  of  us,  after  hasty  consultation, 
dispersed  each  to  visit  designated  points  of  the  city  and 
look  for  suspected  persons  or  signs  of  their  presence. 
The  river  was  patrolled — the  exits  by  the  eastern  branch 
(Anacostia)  and  Georgetown.  I  patrolled  the  boundary 
from  I4th  to  /th  streets  ;  luckily  no  suspicious-looking 
person  met  my  eyes,  and  the  revolvers  were  not  taken  out 
of  their  places.  Much  later,  in  the  trial  of  John  H.  Suratt, 
in  which  I  represented  the  State  Department,  it  was 
shown  that  he  had  made  his  way  out  of  the  city  on 
the  north  side  towards  Baltimore. 

I  saw  nothing  of  Major  Webb  or  his  police  that  night, 
though  there  was  no  complaint  of  them.  The  Major  was 
at  his  post. 

For  the  time,  save  in  the  person  of  Secretary  Stanton, 
the  general  government  was  in  abeyance.  The  Chief- 
Justice,  as  well  as  the  other  judges,  for  the  time,  resolved 
themselves  into  commissioners  to  receive  testimony,  and 
devoted  many  days  to  taking  the  statements  of  every 
person  who  had,  or  who  pretended  to  have,  information 
tending  to  throw  light  on  any  part  of  the  transactions  of 
that  night. 


April  1865]     THE  DEATH  OF   THE  PRESIDENT.  333 

The  Secretary  of  War  offered  a  large  reward  for  the 
persons  suspected.  The  city  of  Washington  offered 
$20,000  for  the  apprehension  of  the  assassins,  and  de 
tectives  from  all  of  the  great  cities  hurried  to  the  Capital 
and  set  themselves  to  work  in  the  case. 

The  President  ceased  to  breathe  during  the  ensuing 
night,  and  was  laid  in  state  at  the  Capitol,  and  finally  the 
funeral  cortege,  with  the  Nation's  dead,  took  its  way  to 
distant  Springfield  (Illinois),  and  still  there  was  no  glim 
mer  of  light  upon  the  hiding-place  or  course  of  flight  of 
Wilkes  Booth.  A  week  elapsed  and  the  indignant  and  impo 
tent  grief  of  the  Nation  was  augmented  by  a  conviction 
sunk  into  the  souls  of  men,  that  the  murderers  had  escaped, 
that  the  police  of  the  loyal  Republic,  notwithstanding  the 
magnitude  of  the  crime  and  the  fame  and  money  awaiting 
the  capture  of  the  assassins,  were  unequal  to  their  task. 

L.  C.  Baker,  Chief  of  the  Military  Bureau,  was  absent 
from  the  Capital  on  duty.  He  returned  to  Washington, 
in  response  to  a  summons,  on  the  i6th  day  of  April,  to 
find  the  whole  field  in  the  possession  of  his  rivals  and 
enemies,  who  refused  to  share  with  him  their  information 
or  theories,  or  to  furnish  the  least  aid,  if  any  were  in  their 
power.  He  was  obliged  to  take  the  case  up  as  wholly 
new,  with  many  of  the  first  clues  and  indications  practi 
cally  effaced  by  the  lapse  of  days. 

He  came  to  the  conclusion  that  Booth  and  Harrold 
had  or  would  escape  into  Virginia  by  the  way  of  lower 
Maryland  and  the  Potomac,  and  that  they  would  seek 
refuge  in  the  land  of  the  rebels.  On  the  24th,  he  sent  one 
of  his  men  into  lower  Maryland  with  a  telegraph  expert, 
and  placed  an  attachment  on  a  wire  connecting  with  his 
headquarters.  Two  days  later  that  man  brought  an  old 
negro  to  him  from  whom  Baker  claimed  to  learn  that,  on 
Saturday  night,  the  22d,  two  men  had  crossed  the  Potomac 
into  Virginia,  near  Matthews  Point,  in  a  boat,  and  that  one 
of  them  was  lame.  These,  he  decided,  must  have  been 


334  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [April  1865 

the  fugitives ;  from  the  description,  the  lame  man  was 
doubtless  Booth,  who  in  his  flight  had  received  an  injury. 

An  order  from  Secretary  Stanton  placed  under  Baker's 
orders  Lieutenant  Dougherty,  of  the  i6th  New  York 
Cavalry,  and  twenty-five  soldiers.  Baker  put  the  troop 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  O.  E.  Conger, 
formerly  of  his  regiment,  aided  by  Lieutenant  Baker,  of 
the  same,  a  nephew  of  L.  C.  Baker,  recently  mustered  out 
but  then  in  Baker's  service. 

Before  the  starting  of  the  party,  the  Chief  spread  out  a 
map  of  Virginia  and  designated  the  crossing-place  of  the 
fugitives  and  the  place  where  they  had  probably  landed  ; 
then,  taking  a  compass,  he  placed  one  point  at  Port  Con- 
way,  where  a  road  crossed  the  Rappahannock,  and  drew  a 
circle,  which  he  said  included  a  space  of  ten  miles  around 
that  point,  and  within  that  territory  they  would  find  the 
fugitives.  The  party  got  off  at  once,  crossed  safely,  and 
moved  on  all  night.  At  the  ferry  named,  late  the  next 
day,  they  received  certain  information  of  the  fugitives, 
who  were  captured  after  midnight  of  the  second  night 
within  Baker's  circle.1 

The  conception  and  successful  execution  of  Baker's 
scheme,  of  the  arrest  of  Booth  and  Harrold,  must  certainly 
rank  with  the  most  famous  exploits  in  the  wide  field  of 
detection. 

One  incident  of  it  deserves  further  mention.  The  old 
negro  informant  is  to  be  relegated  to  the  realm  of  myth  ; 
all  the  means  taken  to  reproduce  him  were  futile  ;  Jie  was 

1  History  of  the  Secret  Service,  L.  C.  Baker,  Philadelphia,  p.  552.  The 
sworn  statement  of  Colonel  Conger  and  Lieutenant  Baker  at  length,  written 
by  the  author  at  their  dictation.  Later,  I  brought  a  suit  for  these  parties 
against  the  city  of  Washington,  to  recover  the  reward.  Lieutenant  Dough 
erty  and  Boston  Corbett  were  concerned,  and  all  their  depositions  were 
taken  in  full.  Later,  when  the  case  was  ended,  the  Court  issued  an  order 
permitting  me  to  withdraw  all  the  papers,  which  are  now  in  my  possession — 
a  complete  and  verified  narration  of  this  episode  in  our  history,  and  of  the 
parts  performed  by  the  deponents  severally. 


April  1865]    THE  DEATH  OF    THE  PRESIDENT.  335 

never  again  heard  of  or  found,  and  became  the  theme  of 
the  unsparing  gibes  and  sarcasms  of  Baker's  rivals  and 
enemies. 

He  was  a  pure  creation  of  the  genius  of  L.  C.  Baker. 
His  intuitive  grasp  of  the  conditions  of  the  case  made  it 
certain  that  the  assassins  would  seek  cover  in  Virginia. 
His  study  of  the  map  and  the  formation  of  the  two  sides 
of  the  river  demonstrated  the  crossing-place,  time,  and 
course  of  flight  inland.  For  the  execution  of  his  concep 
tion  he  could  trust  to  the  fertile  resources  of  Colonel  Con 
ger.  He  was  himself  too  well  known,  and  by  too  many 
persons,  to  conduct  the  expedition  personally. 

The  old  negro  was  a  necessary  creation,  to  give  color  as 
a  real  informant,  and  to  make  seeming  ground  on  which 
the  expedition  could  rest ;  and  those  who  derided  the 
invention  unconsciously  did  homage  to  the  genius  of  the 
inventor. 

On  the  return  of  Baker's  party,  the  Secretary  of  War 
doubted,  as  did  many,  the  accuracy  of  his  statements, 
that  Booth  was  slain  and  Harrold  captured,  which  yielded 
only  to  the  identification  of  the  dead  Booth  and  living 
prisoner. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 
LAST  WORDS. 

MAY-JULY,    1865. 

The   War   over — The  Grand   Review — Some    Final  Words  of   Abraham 
Lincoln — Mr.  Stanton's  Exit. 

THE  war  was  over.  The  two  great  armies  of  Grant  and 
Sherman  were  assembled  and  encamped  near  Washington 
for  the  final  grand  review,  previous  to  their  disbanding 
and  the  return  of  the  soldiers  to  their  distant  homes.  On 
the  22d  of  May  the  army  of  Grant,  moving  from  the  west 
by  companies,  solemnly  and  silently  marched  past  the  re- 
viewing-stand  of  the  President  in  front  of  the  White 
House,  170,000  strong.  All  day  long,  from  curb  to  curb, 
with  their  battle-torn  banners,  wheeling  now  to  the  right 
at  Fifteenth  Street,  and  New  York  Avenue,  and  then 
to  the  left,  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  were  they  marching 
on  to  the  East  front  of  the  Capital  not  breaking  until 
night  for  their  camps. 

On  the  day  following,  with  the  same  impressive  silence 
and  strength,  marched  Sherman's  scarcely  less  numerous 
brigades.  For  hours  I  stood  just  below  the  President's 
stand,  my  eyes  filled  with  unconscious  tears,  as  rank  after 
rank  of  these  solemn  faced  war-scarred  veterans  smote  the 
earth  with  their  simultaneous  tread  :  the  infantry,  with 
their  rifled  muskets  and  bayonets  ;  the  artillery,  which  per 
formed  the  service  of  its  arm ;  the  cavalry,  which  had 

336 


May-July  1865]  LAST    WORDS.  337 

steadily  advanced  in  merit  and  achieved  as  high  a  prestige 
as  ever  reached  by  cavalry ;  it  was  these  men,  these  who 
had  fought  out  the  war.  Thus  the  war  ended. 

What  strange  visions  of  war  vicissitudes  flashed  on  the 
imagination  as  Ouster's  horsemen  passed,  each  man  with 
a  pink  ribbon  at  his  throat  for  identity  ;  and  how  we  recall 
the  dramatic  incident  of  their  chief  holding  the  head  of 
his  column  for  space,  which,  when  gained,  his  horse, 
breaking  from  the  restraint  of  the  hand,  dashed  over  it  at 
full  speed,  to  be  turned  back  that  his  rider  might  again 
"  witch  the  world  with  noble  horsemanship." 

Two  things  were  observed  of  the  Sherman  army :  the 
marked  superiority  in  height  and  personal  bearing  of  the 
Western  men  over  the  men  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac ; 
and  the  obvious  fact  that  they  were  in  large  part  of  the 
same  rank  and  class  in  civil  life  with  their  officers. 

Some  final  words  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  of  the  man  as  he 
appeared  to  me,  and  I  speak  from  my  personal  impres 
sions  wholly.  He  was  not  a  leader,  a  commander  of  men, 
nor  yet  one  born  to  rule,  as  men  understand  that  term. 
In  the  great  war  he  could  not  pose  as  a  royal  Bourbon 
with  golden  crest  and  fleurs  de  Us  ;  nor  as  a  belted  Bear- 
nese  prince,  the  royal  Knight  of  Navarre ;  nor  yet  as  a 
Murat  at  the  head  of  his  charging  column  ;  or  a  Pickett 
storming  the  iron-  and  steel-clad  heights. 

He  was  in  no  common  usage  of  the  term  a  leader. 
He  was  a  Manager  of  men,  of  the  rarest  aptitude ;  a  Per 
suader  of  wonderful  endowments ;  a  Conductor  of  na 
tions,  peoples, — and  he  was  of  special  gifts. 

To  him  the  war  was  an  embodied  force,  endowed, 
shapeless,  and  vast,  with  power  to  impress  him  who  in  a 
reverent  spirit  and  an  all-trusting  heart  should  docilly 
seek  and  await  its  communing. 

Coming  not  from  the  scum  but  from  the  dregs  of  the  peo 
ple,  inheriting  its  folk-lore,  its  traditions,  its  superstitions, 
its  faith  in  signs,  and  in  the  deliverings  of  its  half-witch 


338  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.     [May  1865- 

crones,  who  deal  in  charms  and  foretell  fates,  and  of  whom 
people  of  ordinary  culture  have  not  the  slightest  knowl 
edge  ;  this  strangely  gifted  man  with  this  origin,  placed  at 
the  nation's  head  in  this  crisis  of  its  career,  was  to  con 
duct  it  through  to  the  firm  ground  of  peace  and  safety. 
I  see  him  bending  patiently  at  the  feet  of  the  great  war, 
seeking  its  teaching,  questioning  of  any  who  had  a  word 
to  say — not  alone  of  the  world's  wise,  but  of  the  lowly, 
the  far  down — if  haply  some  one  would  utter  the  word 
which  should  bring  the  charm  of  deliverance.  God  only 
knows  of  all  with  whom  he  took  counsel ;  listening,  bowed 
in  the  depths  of  his  soul  for  the  inner  voice  to  the  inner 
ear,  felt  rather  than  heard,  and  making  those  great  utter 
ances  of  what  was  thus  given  him,  to  the  common  folk 
about  him.  All  his  givings  forth  were  to  these — whether 
messages,  State  papers,  proclamations,  or  from  the  ros 
trum. 

None  of  the  great,  the  chosen  ones,  claim  to  have 
shaped  the  policy  of  the  war.  Nor  was  it  the  result  of 
their  many  counsels.  It  was  conceived  in,  or  imparted 
to,  the  solitary  soul  of  that  rare  man.  The  human  soul  is 
ever  solitary.  Its  organs  and  faculties  lie  rudimentary 
and  voiceless  in  the  prison-house  of  earth,  and  when  the 
man  is  set  apart  by  his  fellows  and  is  dedicated  to  the 
awful  responsibility  of  the  safety  of  a  great  people,  of 
many  peoples,  struggling  in  the  grasp  of  the  world's 
crisis,  the  soul  is  thrice  set  apart  and  doomed  to  awful 
solitude.  None  but  God  can  commune  with  it. 

The  awakening,  uprising,  and  arming  of  the  peoples  of 
the  North  was  as  the  great  movements  of  the  primitive 
tribes  and  races  in  the  older  times.  They  were  to  traverse 
unknown  land — land  newly  formed,  which  no  human  foot 
had  ever  trod.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  their  conductor, 
their  chosen  of  God  and  of  man.  One  so  unique,  before, 
never  appeared  on  this  earth.  A  conductor,  not  a  leader 
with  pomp  and  trumpets  and  banners,  but  on  foot,  walk- 


July  1865]  LAST   WORDS.  339 

ing  as  one  of  the  common  mass  which  his  height  com 
manded,  where  his  heart  and  sympathies  ever  were,  where 
next  to  God  his  trust  and  hope  and  confidence  rested. 
With  what  care  and  solicitude  he  inspected  every  rood  to 
be  traversed  of  the  unknown  land  covered  by  brooding 
twilight.  There  might  lie  hidden  in  its  depths  a  bottom 
less  quicksand— 

"  A  gulf  profound  as  that  Serbonian  bog 
Betwixt  Damiata  and  Mount  Casius  old, 
Where  armies  whole  had  sunk." 

With  the  advanced  and  leading  was  his  place.  Many 
were  prospecting  and  skirmishing  ahead  of  him,  ever  turn 
ing  and  looking  to  him  for  indications  of  the  course. 
Eager  men,  delegations  of  the  clergy,  importuned  him  to 
turn  this  way,  turn  that  way,  or  all  would  be  lost.  He 
put  them  by  with  apt  stories  in  the  structure  and  lan 
guage  of  the  common  people,  extemporized,  but  full  of 
pith  and  local  color.  To  the  eager  and  impatient  he 
seemed  to  loiter,  stand  still ;  men  upbraided,  denounced, 
frantically  urged  and  implored  him  to  move  forward,  to 
strike  here,  there,  anywhere,  and  rush  on  ;  they  scoffed 
and  derided  him.  His  faith  was  in  the  people,  the  aver 
age  common  folk,  who  to  a  man,  to  a  woman,  to  a  child, 
loved  and  trusted  him.  He  knew  and  he  moved  only  as 
they  moved  with  him  in  their  might  and  multitude,  sub 
jugating  the  new,  strange  land  as  they  went,  so  that  a 
second  crusade  would  be  impossible.  As  he  and  they 
moved  their  pace  was  accelerated,  their  enthusiasm 
kindled,  and  their  final  impact  swept  the  unformed  Con 
federacy  from  the  earth. 

To  me  his  greatness  consists  in  the  docility  with  which 
he  apprehended  the  lessons  of  the  war,  in  the  singleness 
of  purpose  and  certainty  with  which  he  obeyed  them. 

During  the  conflict  the  energies  of  those  remaining 
loyal  to  the  Republic  were  intently  given  to  its  restora- 


340  RECOLLECTIONS  OF    WAR    TIMES.      [May  1865- 

tion  under  the  command  of  the  President,  who  had  devel 
oped  to  be  the  true  head  of  the  Nation.  In  a  way,  he  was 
regarded  by  the  masses  as  the  Nation,  the  State,  as  were 
despotic  rulers,  and  our  experience  made  us  acquainted 
with  the  forces  and  ways  which,  in  a  people  less  developed 
politically,  would  transform  a  constitutional  ruler  into  an 
irresponsible  dictator.  The  blow  which  struck  him  down 
appeared  for  an  hour  to  dissolve  the  State.  Chaotic 
visions  of  blood  seemed  palpable  for  a  night.1 

The  close  of  the  great  career  was  as  dramatic  as  a  con 
ception  of  old  Greek  tragedy.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  present 
at  the  great  surrender,  his  feet  trod  the  streets  of  the  hos 
tile  capital,  and  then  he  passed  away.  His  assassin  had 
not  the  manliness  to  stand  in  arms  with  the  enemy,  nor 
the  patriotism  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  Republic.  Con 
sumed  by  the  ambition  to  be  ranked  with  the  assassins  of 
Henry  IV.  and  William  the  Silent,  he  in  turn  fell  by 
the  hands  of  a  crazed  religionist,  and  his  grave  was  long 
unknown.8 

Andrew  Johnson  succeeded  to  Abraham  Lincoln's 
theories  and  plans.  In  his  temporary  eclipse  in  a  private 

1  So  entirely  had  Mr.  Lincoln  won  the  heart  and  soul  of  the  masses,  that 
the  common  mind  accepted  his  decision  as  right  in  all  cases,  beyond  criticism 
or  cavil.  One  of  the  gravest  of  all  the  problems  springing  from  secession 
was  the  reconstruction  of  the  Republic.  Unquestionably  the  President  was 
wrong  both  as  to  the  depository  of  the  power  and  the  best  method  of  recon 
struction.  Yet  we  have  seen  that  the  people  stood  as  one  with  him,  and  de 
nounced  the  before-ever-trusted  Wade  ;  Ohio  repudiated  him,  and  the  brilliant 
Winter  Davis  had  to  leave  Congress.  What  would  have  been  the  result  had 
Lincoln  lived? 

9  I  was  asked  to  aid  in  the  defence  of  Mrs.  Suratt.  On  the  trial  of  her 
son,  extradited  and  returned  by  the  efforts  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr. 
Seward  asked  me  to  appear  and  aid  in  his  prosecution.  On  the  trial  it  came 
out  that,  after  the  conviction  of  his  mother  by  the  military  commission  which 
tried  the  conspirators,  the  Government  offered  that  if  John  H.  would  surren 
der  himself  to  the  United  States,  his  mother  should  be  unconditionally  par 
doned.  He  was  then  secreted  in  Baltimore,  and  we  were  morally  certain, 
from  the  proof,  that  this  was  conveyed  to  the  wretched  son,  whose  only  re 
sponse  was  flight  to  Rome,  where  he  took  service  with  the  Pope's  Zouaves. 


July  1865]  LAST   WORDS.  341 

hospital,  with  Mr.  Seward  hovering  between  life  and  death 
from  the  hands  of  one  of  the  assassins,  and  the  Chief  Jus 
tice  remaining  Chief  Justice,  the  Secretary  of  War  was  the 
only  man  of  the  government  who  was  equal  to  the  occa 
sion.  For  two  or  three  days  he  was  the  government — the 
sole  recognized  source  of  authority  and  power  ;  and  both 
by  official  position  and  a  born  nature  to  rule  he  was  one 
in  whose  hands  a  nation,  a  people,  can  find  safety  in 
emergencies.  The  picturesque  and  trying  days  of  Presi 
dent  Johnson  (a  modified  prolongation  of  the  war,  in 
Washington)  are  beyond  my  present  field  of  labor.  They 
will  prove  the  most  difficult  for  the  real  historian  when  he 
comes,  as  they  were  certainly  the  most  trying  for  Secretary 
Stanton,  with  whom  I  am  for  a  moment  to  linger. 

On  the  surrender  of  Lee,  Mr.  Stanton  tendered  his 
resignation  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  induced  him  to  remain, 
Mr.  Johnson  being  at  this  time  in  the  care  of  the  Blairs, 
who  were  not  friends  of  the  Secretary.  In  the  first  days 
of  the  new  President's  rule,  Montgomery  Blair  concurring, 
he  placed  himself  in  the  hands  of  Senator  Wade  as  his 
leading  adviser,  and  this  association  put  him  at  one  with 
the  radicals  for  a  brief  space.  These  were  the  days  of 
breathing  vengeance  and  punishment  for  treason,  and  even 
Wade  could  not  induce  him  to  forego  wide  punishment.1 

Mr.  Seward  recovered  and  resumed  his  old  place  at  the 
head  of  the  board,  when  a  change  marked  the  course  of 
the  President.  The  Republican  Congress  that  had  ad 
journed  with  a  sense  of  security,  convened  in  the  39th 
Congress  to  be  confronted  by  the  President  and  his  re 
constructed  States  ;  and  then  came  a  contest  almost  as 
deadly  as  that  of  the  rebellion. 

The  majority  of  the  two  Houses  humiliated  the  Presi 
dent — bound  him  hand  and  foot,  by  the  "  Tenure  of 

1  I  was  present  at  one  of  his  early  interviews  with  Mr.  Wade,  and  do  not 
speak  from  hearsay.  That  was  the  occasion  when,  at  the  President's  re 
quest,  the  Senator  selected  the  dozen  upon  whom  justice  might  be  expended. 


342  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  WAR  TIMES.       [May  1865- 

Office  "  Act  passed  over  his  solemn  veto.  Finally  the 
President  suspended  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  General 
Grant  became  Secretary,  ad  interim. 

The  President  was  suspected  of  conspiracy  to  overthrow 
Republican  rule,  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  Northern  Demo 
crats  from  the  House  and  Senate,  and  the  recognition  of 
the  Southern  Representatives  and  Senators,  thus  forming 
another  Congress,  to  be  sustained  as  such  by  the  Presi 
dent,  with  the  army,  if  necessary.  I  always  doubted  his 
connection  with  any  such  scheme,  though  I  do  not  doubt 
its  being  proposed  to  him,  and  the  first  attempt  to  im 
peach  him  failed.  Congress  sat  on  its  own  adjournments 
pursuant  to  its  own  acts,  passed  over  the  Executive  veto. 
Finally,  the  President  removed,  or  undertook  to  remove, 
the  Secretary  of  War  in  violation  of  the  Tenure  of  Office 
Act,  and  the  House  impeached  him — a  grave  mistake.1 

The  President  had  been  a  warm  admirer  and  friend  of 
the  Secretary  of  War,  and  had  retained  him  against  the 
advice  of  his  nearest  personal  friends,  and  had  tried  in 
vain  to  win  him  to  his  sudden  and  complete  change  of 
policy  in  reference  to  the  Confederate  States  and  their 
leaders.  This,  of  course,  before  Mr.  Stanton's  suspension. 

Under  the  existing  conditions,  painful  and  repulsive  to 
every  impulse  of  his  nature,  Mr.  Stanton  felt  constrained 
to  remain  in  the  War  Office,  though  long  absent  from  the 
councils  of  his  nominal  chief. 

The  services  of  a  general  at  the  head  of  an  army  are 
capable  of  estimation,  as  are  those  of  a  leading  legislator. 
There  are  no  means  of  rewarding  the  labors  of  a  Cabinet 
Minister  in  this  country,  nor  can  the  responsibilities  of 
Mr.  Stanton  be  easily  compared  with  those  of  Mr.  Chase 
or  Mr.  Seward.  His  labors  were  very  great,  and  probably 
no  other  man  of  his  time  could  have  performed  them  so 
well. 

1  I  was  asked  to  aid  the  managers  in  preparing  the  evidence,  and  declined. 
By  my  advice,  L.  C.  Baker  declined  to  aid  in  this  also. 


July  1865]  LAST    WORDS.  343 

Stanton's  services  were  too  great  for  any  formal  recog 
nition  or  reward  by  Congress  or  by  his  countrymen  ;  and 
wisely  neither  made  the  attempt.  General  Grant  ap 
pointed  him  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
he  was  pleased  with  the  post.  He  was  a  very  able  lawyer, 
a  really  great  advocate,  and,  like  advocates  in  general,  he 
may  have  seen  one  side  of  the  case  too  intensely  to  be  able 
at  once  to  take  a  judicial  balance.  Great  advocates  do  not 
always  make  great  judges,  though  Mr.  Stanton  was  more 
than  an  advocate— he  was  a  man  great  in  action,  and 
could  not  have  failed. 

However,  death  intervened  before  he  assumed  the  robes, 
and  before  the  earth  closed  over  him  there  were  men  who 
said  that  the  end  was  by  his  own  hand,  and  from  remorse! 
Remorse  for  what,  in  the  name  of  things  holy  ?  From  time 
-to  time  this  groundless  tale  against  the  memory  of  the 
great  Secretary  takes  its  ghastly  flight  through  the  land, 
and  perhaps  will  continue  to,  however  persistently  slain.1 

1  For  a  final  analysis  and  summing  up  of  Mr.  Stanton,  see  Appendix  II. 


APPENDIX  I. 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  AT  CLEVELAND  ON  THE   EVENING  OF  THE 
EXECUTION  OF  JOHN  BROWN  ;  READ    IN  THE  HOUSE 
BY  REQUEST  OF  HON.  S.  S.  COX. 


LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  These  are  strange,  eventful  days 
and  times,  full  not  only  of  portents  and  omens,  but  incidents  of 
great  moment,  filled  with  the  startling  conclusions  of  old  logic, 
and  the  fulfilment  of  old  prophecy. 

Never  in  the  world's  history  were  old  dogmas  and  formulas 
so  rudely  catechised,  and  old  shams  and  seemings  so  irrever 
ently  pulverized  ;  never  before  did  men  cast  themselves  so 
boldly  upon  their  convictions  ;  never  before  were  the  dreams 
of  old  speculation  so  realized  ;  never  before  did  opinion  so 
congeal  into  conduct,  and  thought  become  embodied  action. 
And  never  before  did  events  by  such  sharp,  crisp  turns  bring 
men  face  to  face  with  unexpected  conclusions — as  if  by  a  flash 
of  revelation. 

This  is  a  day,  not  a  fraction  of  a  week  or  month,  but  a  full^ 
complete  day.  This  is  an  event — not  an  item — a  mere  inci 
dent.  It  may  be  an  era,  opening  up  a  new  way  ;  it  is  at  least 
a  most  portentous  way-mark.  These  unwonted  manifesta 
tions  are  not  the  mutterings  and  incantations  of  party  con 
jurers  ;  they  are  the  voices  of  the  gathering  storm.  This  glare 
is  real,  red,  live  lightning,  leaping  fresh  from  the  embodied 
tempest.  This  tremor  is  not  the  weakness  of  coward  knees, 
but  the  shudder  of  the  solid  earth  in  its  recoil  from  the  deed 
of  to-day. 

Wherein  is  the  significance  of  this  act,  that  has  caused  un- 

345 


346  APPENDIX  I. 

seen  hands  to  drape  these  walls  in  funereal  weeds,  and  the 
bells  throughout  the  land  instinctively  to  toll  out  their  knell  ? 
Is  it  because  John  Brown  is  dead  ?  John  Browns  have  died 
before.  Has  a  man  been  strangled  ?  The  gallows-tree  has 
stood  darkly  against  the  background  of  human  history,  affright 
ing  heaven  and  appalling  earth  with  its  hideous,  ghastly  fruit, 
since  the  dawn  of  civilization  !  Men  do  not  revere  murder 
and  venerate  treason.  It  is  not  because  Virginia  has  executed 
a  culprit.  Virginia  did  not  do  it.  Embodied  and  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  Republic,  slavery  seized 
its  eternal  contrary  in  the  person  of  John  Brown,  and  with  the 
gleam  and  pomp  of  military  display,  at  mid-day,  ostentatiously 
put  him  to  death  !  It  is  that  which  sends  this  mortal  shiver 
through  the  land. 

It  matters  nothing  that  this  has  been  done  under  the  form 
of  law  ;  that  the  facts  written  by  history  upon  the  forms  of 
eternity  were  sworn  to  by  so-called  witnesses  ;  nothing,  that 
men,  as  jurors,  hissed  a  verdict  through  teeth  with  which  they 
would  have  torn  their  unshrinking  victim  ;  and  still  less  that  an 
atrocious  burlesque  upon  the  Judiciary  was  executed  by  the 
thing  upon  the  bench.  The  condemnation  and  death  of  John 
Brown  are  to  be  estimated  by  equites,  in  which  the  Throne 
of  Eternal  Justice  alone  has  its  foundation.  In  these  scales 
legal  formulas  are  dead  and  weightless.  Doctors  of  the 
Hebrew  Law,  by  its  letter,  make  a  conclusive  case  against 
Jesus  Christ,  and  show  that  His  condemnation  and  execution, 
by  the  Roman  "  Governor  Wise  "  of  their  "  Virginia,"  were 
according  to  the  forms  of  law  !  And  yet  the  faith  and  hope 
of  Christendom  rest  on  the  basis  that  that  judgment  and  death 
were  the  sacrificial  and  sacramental  seals  of  the  Messiahship 
which  stamped  the  peasant-born,  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
In  measuring  this  case  by  these  eternal  principles,  do  not  quote 
"  unions  "  and  "  compacts  "  and  "  constitutions  "  to  me  !  I 
deny  their  validity  !  I  pronounce  them  temporary  and  trashy 
when  they  attempt  to  contravene  the  Immutable  ! 

A  great  while  ago  a  gang  of  Portuguese  pirates  stole  a  cargo 
of  Africans,  and  other  pirates,  French  and  English,  stole  other 
cargoes,  and  they  were  deposited  in  chains  among  the  nebu- 


APPENDIX    I.  347 

lous  forces  out  of  which  was  to  be  formed  a  new  State,  mingled 
with  its  elements  while  in  the  milk,  and  it  grew  up  and  became 
organic,  with  slavery  a  part  of  its  every  fibre.  And  other 
States  sprang  up  around  it  with  this  thing  growing  also  from 
their  seminal  principles.  And  still  other  States,  not  having  the 
body  of  slavery  in  them,  but  poisoned  with  its  malaria,  came 
and  grouped  themselves  around  this  State.  And  all  these 
States  formed  a  solemn  league,  an  indissoluble  compact  and 
law  ;  these  slave  States  were  treated  as  higher  and  better  by 
reason  of  slavery.  They  were  expressly  granted  powers  and 
privileges  solely  and  exclusively  because  they  had  it.  And  no 
provision  looking  to  its  abrogation,  nor  a  cessation  of  those 
powers  and  privileges,  was  made.  Not  only  so,  but  every  State, 
and  all  the  free  States  and  every  man  in  them,  were  solemnly 
pledged  and  enjoined  to  seize  and  return  every  fugitive  from 
slavery. 

And  so  the  States  became  a  nation,  and  their  peoples  one 
people  ;  and  slavery  became  "  king  "  and  ruled,  as  it  would, 
royally — making  and  moulding  parties,  policies,  and  presidents, 
stealing  territory  from  one  nation  to  extend  itself  in,  and  peo 
ple  from  another  to  enslave  upon  it.  Breaking  down,  at  last, 
the  old  Northern  barrier,  it  thrust  its  fettered  victims  into  our 
faces  and  upon  our  soil.  Our  people  were  aroused  ;  they  said 
they  would  war  against  it,  but  they  were  powerless  ;  the  Union 
and  Constitution  walled  them  out  ;  the  hand  that  would  strike 
was  self-manacled  ;  the  very  breath  with  which  they  would  ex 
claim  against  it  was  beaten  out  of  their  bodies.  They  were 
estopped  by  their  bond,  and  could  feed  a  fleeing  slave  only  by 
stealth.  Then  arose  John  Brown,  soldier  and  prophet ;  do 
not  say  he  was  crazy,  do  not  think  it,  do  not  so  cloud  his 
glory, — and  scanning  this  slavery,  said  :  "  It  was  wrong,  all 
wrong,  allied  to  nothing  good  or  even  indifferent,  but  wholly 
wrong,  no  matter  how  old  it  is  nor  how  deeply  imbedded  in 
institutions  ;  no  matter  how  guarded  by  State  constitutions 
and  laws,  nor  how  esteemed  and  revered  as  good.  No  matter, 
though  hedged  in  by  the  Union  and  walled  round  by  the  triple 
bars  of  the  national  compact,  though  thirty-three  crowned 
sovereigns  with  arms  in  their  hands  stand  around  it,  it  is  wrong, 


348  APPENDIX    /. 

and  shall  be  dealt  with  as  wrong.  I  cannot  approach  it 
through  the  law, — that  forbids  me.  I  cannot  strike  it  through 
the  Constitution, — that  protects  it.  I  cannot  move  the  power 
of  the  Union  to  crush  it, — that  shields  it.  Yet  all  revelation 
commands  me,  all  the  instincts  of  humanity  impel  me,  all  the 
voices  of  the  free  creation  call  me,  and  I  fall  back  on  the 
eternal  reservation  of  rights  and  obey."  So  said  John  Brown  ; 
and,  seizing  that  old  battle  blade,  with  which  the  second 
Frederick  of  Brandenburg  clove  down  and  hewed  asunder  the 
holy  alliances  and  slavery  propaganda  of  the  old  world  ;  and 
the  same  with  which  George  Washington  sundered  the  old 
fetters  of  the  new  ;  with  this  sword,  coming  thus  lineally  to 
his  hand,  he  struck  one  full  blow,  not  at  the  Commonwealth  of 
Virginia  (God  bless  her  if  He  will  !) — not  at  the  Union 
(Heaven  help  it  if  It  can  !) — not  at  any  man  nor  thing,  but 
fully  upon  the  iron  fetters  of  Slavery,  rusted  with  sweat  and 
crusted  with  gore,  until  their  canker  teeth  had  gnawed  away 
the  muscles  and  had  eaten  out  the  hearts  and  lives  of  whole 
generations  of  that  unsinning  race  !  And  it  was  for  this  that 
Slavery  seized  him  and  choked  his  soul  out  of  his  body,  and 
thrust  him  back,  cold,  into  the  arms  of  the  wife  God  had  given 
him. 

And  shall  Slavery  for  all  this  repose  in  safety  this  one 
night  ?  Shall  it  not  imagine  the  soul  of  John  Brown,  in  the 
form  of  the  red-visaged  Angel  of  Retributive  Wrath,  hovering 
on  the  pinions  of  fright  and  terror  over  all  her  doomed  do 
main,  distilling  ghastly  images  of  blood  upon  the  starting  eye 
balls  of  her  cowering  votaries  !  And  that  blow,  what  a  wonder 
and  what  a  revelation  !  That  little  metallic  clink,  not  so  loud 
as  that  which  the  sullen  anvil  gives  back  to  the  hammer,  shook 
a  continent  ;  and  its  echoes  and  re-echoes  as  they  repeat 
grow  louder  and  louder  and  shall  never  die  away  !  It  shattered 
the  fetters  of  every  slave  in  the  land  ;  and  could  the  Moses 
have  gone  on,  another  Exodus  would  have  been  possible.  It 
revealed  the  utter,  deathly  weakness  of  slavery.  At  once  and 
forever  it  dissipated  the  cloud,  the  mystery,  and  darkness  that 
enshrouded  it  ;  and  an  awakened  world  beheld  it — empty  and 
hollow  and  naked  and  helpless  and  hopeless,  languishing 


APPENDIX    I.  349 

and  dying  in  its  deformity,  and  there  were  no  reverent  sons 
walking  backward  with  its  garment  to  cover  its  unsightly 
hideousness  from  a  mocking  universe. 

It  revealed,  too,  the  innate  cowardice  with  which  Slavery 
endows  its  worshippers  ;  making  palpable  the  shapeless  forms 
of  dread  that  throng  their  paths  by  day  and  brood  and  cower 
around  their  hearths  by  night.  All  the  manifestations,  all  the 
quaking  images  of  white-faced  fear  driven  mad,  which  the 
world  has  ever  jeered  at,  have  been  outrun  and  forgotten  in 
the  shiverings  of  the  "  chivalry."  It  also  revealed  the  radical 
cruelty  which  the  "  institution  "  plants  in  otherwise  brave  and 
noble  natures  ;  demonstrating  the  anachronism  of  slavery  it 
self  ;  which  has  brought  out,  amid  the  refinements  of  the  nine 
teenth  century,  the  qualities  and  characteristics  of  the  rudest 
savage.  I  care  not  with  what  exterior  grace  the  slave-holders 
discharge  the  outer  amenities  of  ordinary  life,  nor  with  what 
solemnities  they  assume  the  name  and  fellowship  of  Chris 
tianity,  they  oblige  us  to  pronounce  them  unreclaimed  and 
unregenerated  barbarians. 

And  what  a  revelation,  too,  this  act  has  made  of  the  char 
acter  and  conduct  of  John  Brown  himself,  showing  us  that 
men  of  the  grand  old  type,  souls  of  the  great  heroic  mould,  are 
still  possible,  still  have  their  birth  in  our  land  ;  men  who 
realize  the  images  that  have  haunted  our  memories  since  the 
tales  of  our  childhood. 

The  earth  has  never  seen  the  paragon  of  that  incident  in 
the  last  struggle  ;  when  everything  had  failed  but  the  sacrifice, 
and  as  if  "without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  could  be  no 
remission,"  and  that  the  offering  might  be  perfect,  while  one 
son  lay  dead  before  him,  with  the  lapsing  pulse  of  the  other 
boy  ebbing  from  under  the  fingers  of  one  hand,  with  the  other 
still  grasping  his  rifle,  the  voice  of  the  old  soldier-prophet  was 
still  heard  ringing  out  over  the  din  of  battle,  calling  the  last  of 
his  band  to  death  ! 

To-day  the  earth  mourned  in  storm  and  darkness  the  depar 
ture  of  its  truest  child.  To-day  the  "  Pearly  Gates  "  opened 
with  light  and  gladness  to  the  grandest  soul  that  has  passed 
their  portals  for  the  last  thousand  years  ! 


APPENDIX  II. 

AT  THE  MEETING  OF  THE    WASHINGTON  BAR,  COMMEMORATIVE 

OF  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  LATE  HONORABLE  EDWIN  M. 

STANTON,    JANUARY    3,   1870. 


Mr.  Riddle  spoke  as  follows  : 

Some  things  I  want  to  say  and  probably  the  most  inappro 
priate  possible.  The  small  conventionalities  that  determine 
the  fitness  of  little  things  I  have  never  learned  and  I  never 
ask  pardon  for  their  violation. 

There  is  a  new-made  grave  in  our  midst,  so  large  as  to  fill 
all  the  land,  and  the  earth  that  rounds  it  up  is  streaked  with 
the  red  of  the  great  battle-fields  of  the  continent,  and  I  have 
some  words  to  say  of  him  whose  remains  rest  under  it.  Not 
eulogy  !  God  forgive  the  man  who  attempts  that.  Anything 
— words  of  earnest  hate  are  more  fitting  than  eulogy.  Some 
strong,  forceful,  earnest  words,  with  meaning — or  silence  for 
me.  The  sun,  storm,  and  clouds  may  eulogize  the  rugged 
mountain, — not  I. 

This  was  no  ordinary  man,  and  he  lived  in  no  ordinary  time  ; 
and  our  common  standard  of  weights  and  measures  will  not 
apply  to  him.  If  I  cannot  comprehend  him  as  he  was  I  will 
not  attempt  to  dwarf  him  to  my  apprehension.  There  has 
been  and  will  be  enough  of  lawyer  talk  over  him.  I  will 
speak  of  him  as  one  of  a  primitive  formation  may  speak  of  the 
primal  man. 

I  very  well  remember  the  close  of  that  short,  dark,  rainy 
day,  eight  years  ago,  when  Senator  Pearce  told  me  that  the 

350 


APPENDIX  II.  351 

Senate  had  confirmed  EDWIN  M.  STANTON  as  Secretary  of 
War.  He  said  that  Wade  had  endorsed  him  to  the  Republi 
cans  ;  and  I  remember  my  first  impression  when  I  met  him  the 
next  morning  :  the  compact  head,  the  pale,  sad  face,  and  the 
deep  light  of  his  melancholy  eyes  that  always  conveyed  to  me 
some  mysterious  message  that  I  could  never  quite  understand. 

I  attempt  no  analysis  of  the  man.  I  speak  of  him  from  the 
outside,  and  as  he  appeared  as  Secretary  of  War. 

Those  days  were  the  beginning  of  the  Exodus,  when  we 
were  gathering — a  doubting,  unknowing  multitude — on  the 
shore  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  bosom  of  which  was  covered  with 
darkness  ;  how  we  shuddered  and  shrank  from  its  icy 
waters  ! 

The  great  blow  which  had  fallen,  shattered  the  government 
and  sent  us  staggering  back  towards  elementary  conditions, 
and  our  people  stood  forth  not  in  the  compacted  strength  and 
unity  of  political  organization,  but  reduced  to  simples,  to  indi 
viduals  whose  unity  was  the  unity  of  blind,  instinctive, 
common  impulse,  and  of  vague,  half-formed,  and  wholly 
unexpressed  purpose. 

It  was  a  blow  that  stripped  high  office  of  sanctity  and 
power  to  command,  and  men  were  heard  and  heeded  only  as 
they  were  pointed  out  by  natural  fitness  to  command  and 
lead  ;  and  such  men  had  not  appeared,  and  whether  they 
would  come  in  the  persons  of  those  elected  and  summoned  to 
high  places  was  then  the  sorest  of  problems. 

Lincoln  had  not  learned  the  rudiments  of  the  terrible  lesson 
set  for  him,  and  his  two  leading  secretaries  seemed  without 
plans  and  almost  without  convictions. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  were  arming  and  drilling, 
marching  and  camping,  fighting  and  buffeting,  with  some 
blind,  unformed,  and  hardly-felt  purpose — an  object  yet  to  be 
condensed  and  indurated  from  nebulous  revolutionary  ele 
ments  hardly  to  be  perceived  ;  and  this  man,  unknown  and 
untried,  not  knowing  himself,  was  launched  into  space  and 
bidden  to  become  a  new  centre,  to  grasp  out  and  to  clutch  to 
himself  this  nebula  and  help  to  mould  a  fixed  purpose,  and  to 
shape  and  fashion  raw  material  into  organized  and  perfected 


352  APPENDIX    II. 

bodies,  of  a  number  and  magnitude  never  dreamed  of  on  this 
continent,  and  never  surpassed  by  any  nation  in  modern 
times  ;  and  when  so  organized  and  perfected  he  was  to  supply 
the  intelligence  to  direct,  and  impart  the  force  that  should 
propel  these  mighty  agencies  to  the  accomplishment  of  that 
purpose. 

The  twin  Genii  of  Treason  and  Rebellion  were  tearing 
asunder  the  Republic,  and  the  widening  fissure  threatened  to 
swallow  up,  not  merely  habeas  corpus  and  trial  by  jury,  but  the 
foundations  and  possibilities  of  civil  government. 

The  ordinary  machinery  of  laws  and  courts,  such  as  we  em 
ploy  here,  were  but  shreds  of  mockery,  the  instincts  of  men 
turned  at  once  to  the  exhaustless  source  of  reserved  power  that 
lies  below  and  outside  of  conventional  government. 

The  two  houses  of  Congress,  in  the  glare  of  volcanic  fire, 
found  new  readings  of  the  Constitution  ;  they  became  great 
executive  councils,  huge  committees  of  ways  and  means.  The 
ordinary  functions  of  the  government  were  in  abeyance  and 
all  the  primal  energies  of  an  aroused  people  went  to  inspire 
the  brain  and  strengthen  the  arm  of  the  Executive.  The 
Executive  was  the  government.  Lincoln  was  the  prominent 
figure  before  men's  eyes,  towering  and  growing  colossal  ;  back 
of  him  was  Stanto?i  ;  back  of  Stanton, — nothing. 

There,  upstairs  in  that  dingy  office  on  iyth  Street, 
throbbed  and  worked  the  heart  and  brain  and  arm  of  the 
war,  never  ceasing,  never  fainting,  never  running  low.  There 
lay  coiled,  in  awful  tension,  the  mighty  mainspring  that  drove 
with  such  terrible  energy  the  gigantic  machinery  of  the  war. 

"  I  used  to  think,"  said  his  associate  at  the  bar  (Mr.  Phil 
lips),  "  that  his  energy  made  him  dangerous  as  a  nisi  prius 
lawyer."  I  think  it  might.  What  a  luxury  to  him  it  must 
have  been  when  he  could  liberate  his  boundless  force  and 
leave  it  to  work  at  will  in  his  limitless  field  !  And  there  never 
was  a  time,  under  the  severest  pressure,  that  there  did  not 
still  lie  unemployed  in  the  man  energy  and  power  enough  to 
propel  the  governmental  machinery  of  the  civilized  world. 
Men  say  that  he  was  rough.  Of  course  he  was.  He  was  a 
primal  force  of  nature,  used  to  break  up  the  old  crust  of  the 


APPENDIX    II.  353 

earth,  throw  up  new  mountains,  and  change  the  configuration 
of  a  continent.  I  fancy  him  in  twilight  solitude,  by  some 
sounding  sea,  quarrying  a  mountain  and  throwing  up  a  giant's 
causeway  in  a  single  night. 

He  at  once  grasped  the  sole  purpose  of  our  side — the  ex 
tinction  of  rebellion  by  force.  That  was  his  task,  and  no 
fateful  destiny  ever  moved  more  inexorably  than  he  to  its 
performance.  He  would  see  and  hear  and  know  nothing  else  ; 
whatever  would  help  he  used,  whatever  would  hinder  was 
ruthlessly  thrust  by,  nothing  could  deter  nor  divert.  To  the 
world  he  was  dark,  cold,  inscrutable,  inexorable.  Union  sol 
diers  were  perishing  or  becoming  idiots  in  Andersonville — he 
would  rescue  them  by  crushing  Richmond,  and  would  deal 
the  blow  when  he  got  ready 

How  men  hated  him  !  Did  he  know  it  ?  Did  he  care  ? 
Did  men  love  him  ?  He  never  asked  ;  love  was  not  necessary 
to  him  then.  How  he  was  lied  about !  Did  he  hear  it  ? 
Whether  he  did  or  not,  no  word  of  his  was  ever  uttered  to 
contradict,  deny,  explain,  or  expose.  Lies  and  liars  were  to 
him  as  if  non-existent. 

Though  the  earth  wavered  like  a  storm-tossed  sea,  he  stood 
firm  ;  though  it  was  covered  from  sight  by  dead  men,  he  saw 
them  not  ;  though  the  bosom  of  the  storm  discharged  fire  and 
blood  and  gobbets  of  mangled  human  flesh,  he  seemed  uncon 
scious  of  it. 

Incorruptible  !  With  him  was  that  a  virtue  ?  The  waver 
ing,  vacillating,  changeable  are  bought,  but  when  was  Stanton 
ever  known  to  change  ?  And  of  all  the  inducements  to  change, 
money  would  on  him  have  been  the  least  force.  So  inflexible 
were  his  resolves,  I  sometimes  thought  that  human  testimony 
had  not  the  power  to  enlighten  him. 

How  inscrutable  that  the  stanch  ship  that  had  so  defied 
and  outrode  the  storm  should  go  so  suddenly  down,  under  a 
sunny  sky,  in  its  harbor.  After  all,  what  was  left  for  him  ? 
The  one  place  proper  for  him  might  never  come  to  him. 
What  other  was  there  that  he  would  not  have  to  step 
down  to  ? 

I  confess,  I  think  it  best  for  him  as  it  is — that  now  his  no- 


354  APPENDIX    II. 

bier  part  should  follow  up  that  golden  strand  that  connects 
this  with  the  better  life.  I  know  how  he  is  wanted  by  that 
mourning  group,  whose  great  bereavement  veils  them  from 
our  observation,  and  I  know  how  intensely  and  tenderly  he 
loved  them  ;  as  I  know  untold  incidents  that  marked  his  heart 
as  a  fountain  of  the  quickest,  tenderest,  and  most  exalted  of 
human  sensibilities. 

After  all,  to  me  it  seems  well  that  the  great  seal  of  death 
should  certify  him  and  his  case  up  to  the  high  tribunal  of  im 
partial  history.  His  services  were  too  great  for  reward,  or 
acknowledgment  even,  and  his  countrymen  attempted  neither. 

I  will  not  pretend  to  anticipate  the  place  he  will  occupy  in 
history  ;  nor  will  this  nor  the  next  generation  of  men  know 
his  position.  We  were  all  too  near,  too  interested,  and  too 
prejudiced,  too  familiar  with  his  features  and  career,  and  they 
do  not  strike  us  as  they  will  strike  strangers,  looking  at  them 
through  a  purer  atmosphere.  We  can  form  no  conception  of 
how  even  our  rebellion  and  war  will  be  estimated  by  the  his 
torian  who  shall  finally  analyze  the  events  and  place  them 
where  they  belong  in  the  world's  annals. 

Long  hence,  when  this  atmosphere  is  cleared  and  the  light 
becomes  white,  when  the  sources  of  events  are  laid  bare  and 
the  springs  of  action  are  disclosed,  when  all  the  hiding-places 
of  information  are  revealed,  some  broad-browed,  deep-eyed, 
thoughtful  student  of  history,  with  infinite  care,  will  construct 
the  story  of  our  struggle,  and  Lincoln  and  his  Secretaries  will 
take  their  rightful  places.  Long  ere  then  we  shall  have  passed 
away  ;  the  pressing  footsteps  of  thronging  generations  will 
have  beaten  the  green  roofs  of  our  resting-places  back  to  the 
level  plain,  and  our  names  and  memories  will  have  perished 
from  the  earth. 

Judge  Cartter  said  : 

"  Let  the  resolutions  be  entered  upon  the  records  of  the 
court." 


APPENDIX   III. 


THE  THIRTY-SEVENTH  CONGRESS— STATES 
REPRESENTED. 

CALIFORNIA. 

SENATORS. 

Milton  S.  Latham.     James  A.  McDougall. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Frederick  F.  Low.     (Took  his  seat  June  3,  1862.) 
Timothy  G.  Phelps.     Aaron  A.  Sargent. 

CONNECTICUT. 

SENATORS. 

James  Dixon.     Lafayette  S.  Foster. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Alfred  A.  Burnham.     James  E.  English.     Dvvight  Loomis.     George 
C.  Woodruff. 


SENATORS. 

James  A.  Bayard. 

REPRESENTATIVE. 

George  P.  Fisher. 


DELAWARE. 

Willard  Saulsbury. 


ILLINOIS. 

SENATORS. 

Stephen  A.  Douglas.     (Died  June  3,  1861.) 

Orville  H.  Browning.     (Appointed  in  place  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 

deceased  ;  took  his  seat  July  4,  1861.) 

William  A.   Richardson.     (Elected  senator  in  place  of   Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  deceased,  Orville  H.  Browning  having  been  appointed 
pro  teni.  ;  took  his  seat  January  30,  1863.) 
Lyman  Trumbull. 

355 


356  APPENDIX  ///. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

William  J.  Allen.     (Elected  in  place  of  John  A.  Logan,  resigned  ; 

took  his  seat  June  2,  1862.) 
Isaac  N.  Arnold.     Philip  B.  Fouke. 
Anthony  L.   Knapp.     (Elected  in  place  of  John   A.   McClernand, 

resigned  ;  took  his  seat  December  12,  1861.) 
William  Kellogg. 

John  A.  Logan.     (Resigned  in  1861.) 
Owen  Lovejoy. 

John  A.  McClernand.     (Resigned  in  1861.) 
William  A.  Richardson.      (Elected  senator  in  place  of  Stephen  A. 

Douglas,  deceased.) 
James  C.  Robinson.     Elihu  B.  Washburne. 

INDIANA. 
SENATORS. 

Jesse  D.  Bright.     (Expelled  February  5,  1862.) 
Henry  S.  Lane. 

David   Turpie.      (Elected   in   place   of   Jesse    D.  Bright,  expelled, 
Joseph  A.  Wright  having  been  appointed/™  tern.  ;  took  his  seat 
January  22,  1863.) 
Joseph  A.  Wright.     (Appointed  in  place  of  Jesse  D.  Bright,  expelled  ; 

took  his  seat  March  3,  1862.) 
REPRESENTATIVES. 

Schuyler  Colfax.  James  A.  Cravens.  W.  McKee  Dunn.  William 
S.  Holman.  George  W.  Julian.  John  Law.  William  Mitchell. 
Albert  G.  Porter.  John  P.  C.  Shanks.  Daniel  W.  Voorhees. 
Albert  S.  White. 

IOWA. 
SENATORS. 

James  W.  Grimes.     James  Harlan. 
REPRESENTATIVES. 

Samuel  R.  Curtis.     (Resigned  August  4,  1861.) 

William  Vandever.     (Election  unsuccessfully  contested  by  Le  Grand 

Byington.) 

James  F.  Wilson.  (Elected  in  place  of  Samuel  R.  Curtis,  resigned  ; 
took  his  seat  December  2,  1861.) 

KANSAS. 

SENATORS. 

James  H.  Lane.  (Election  unsuccessfully  contested  by  Frederick 
P.  Stanton.) 

Samuel  C.  Pomeroy. 
REPRESENTATIVE. 

Martin  F.  Con  way. 


APPENDIX  in.  357 

KENTUCKY. 
SENATORS. 

John  C.  Breckinridge.     (Expelled  December  4,  1861.) 

Garrett  Davis.     (Elected  in  place  of  John  C.  Breckinridge,  expelled  ; 

took  his  seat  December  23,  1861.) 
Lazarus  W.  Powell. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Henry  C.  Burnett.     (Expelled  December  3,  1861.) 

Samuel  L.  Casey.     (Elected  in  place  of  Henry  C.  Burnett,  expelled  ; 

took  his  seat  March  10.  1862.) 
John  J.   Crittenden.     George  W.   Dunlap.     Henry  Grider.     Aaron 

Harding.     James  S.  Jackson  (died  in  1862).     Robert  Mallory. 

John   W.    Menzies.       William    H.     Wadsworth.       Charles    A. 

Wickliffe. 
Geo.  H.  Yeaman.     (Elected  in  place  of  James  S.  Jackson,  deceased  ; 

took  his  seat  December  I,  1862.) 

LOUISIANA. 
REPRESENTATIVES. 

Benjamin  F.  Flanders.     (Took  his  seat  February  23,  1863.) 
Michael  Hahn.     (Took  his  seat  February  17,  1863.) 

MAINE. 

SENATORS. 

William  Pitt  Fessenden.     Lot  M.  Morrill. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Samuel  C.   Fessenden. 

Thomas  A.  D.  Fessenden.     (Elected  in  place  of  Charles  W.  Walton, 

resigned  ;  took  his  seat  December  I,  1862.) 
John  N.  Goodwin.     Anson  P.  Morrill.     Frederick  A.   Pike.     John 

H.  Rice. 
Charles  WT.  Walton.     (Resigned  May  26,  1862.) 

MARYLAND. 

SENATORS. 

Thomas   H.    Hicks.      (Appointed  in   place   of    James    A.    Pearce, 

deceased  ;  took  his  seat  January  14,  1863.) 
Anthony  Kennedy. 
James  A.  Pearce.     (Died  December  20,  1862.) 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Charles  B.   Calvert.     John  WT.   Crisfield.      Cornelius  L.   L.   Leary. 
Henry  May.     Francis  Thomas.     Edwin  H.  Webster. 


358  APPENDIX  III. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 
SENATORS. 

Charles  Sumner.      Henry  Wilson. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

John  B.  Alley. 

William  Appleton.     (Resigned  in  1861.) 

Goldsmith  F.  Bailey.     (Died  May  8,  1862.) 

James  Buffinton.     Henry  L.  Dawes.     Charles  Delano.      Thomas  D. 

Eliot.     Daniel  W.  Gooch. 
Samuel  Hooper.     (Elected  in  place  of  William  Appleton,  resigned  ; 

took  his  seat  December  2,  1861.) 

Alexander  H.  Rice.     Benjamin  F.  Thomas.     Charles  R.  Train. 
Amasa  Walker.     (Elected  in  place  of  Goldsmith  F.  Bailey,  deceased  ; 

took  his  seat  December  I,  1862.) 

MICHIGAN. 

SENATORS. 

Kinsley  S.  Bingham.     (Died  October  5,  1861.) 
Zachariah  Chandler. 

Jacob    M.    Howard.      (Elected   in    place   of    Kinsley  S.    Bingham, 
deceased  ;  took  his  seat  January  17,  1862.) 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Fernando  C.  Beaman.      Bradley  F.  Granger.      Francis  W.  Kellogg. 
Rowland  E.  Trowbridge. 

MINNESOTA. 
SENATORS. 

Henry  M.  Rice.     Morton  S.  Wilkinson. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Cyrus  Aldrich.     William  Windom. 

MISSOURI. 
SENATORS. 

John  B.  Henderson.    (Appointed  in  place  of  Trusten  Polk,  expelled  ; 

took  his  seat  January  29,  1862.) 

Waldo  Porter  Johnson.     (Expelled  January  10,  1862.) 
Trusten  Polk.     (Expelled  January  10,  1862.) 

Robert  Wilson.      (Appointed  in  place  of   Waldo  Porter   Johnson, 
expelled  ;  took  his  seat  January  24,  1862.) 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Francis  P.  Blair,  Jr.     (Resigned  in  1862.) 

William  A.   Hall.     (Elected  in  place  of  John  B.    Clark,   expelled 
July  13,  1861  ;  took  his  seat  January  20,  1862.) 


APPENDIX  III.  359 

REPRESENTATIVES  (Continued). 

John  W.  Noell.     Elijah  H.  Norton.     John  S.  Phelps. 

Thomas  L.  Price.     (Elected  in  place  of  John  \V.  Reid,  expelled  ; 

took  his  seat  January  21,  1862.) 
John  W.  Reid.     (Expelled  December  2,  1861,) 
James  S.  Rollins. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
SENATORS. 

Daniel  Clark.     John  P.  Hale. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Thomas  M.  Edwards.     Oilman  Marston.     Edward  H.  Rollins. 


NEW  JERSEY. 
SENATORS. 

John  C.  Ten  Eyck. 

Richard  S.   Field.     (Appointed   in   place   of  John   R.    Thompson, 

deceased;  took  his  seat  December  I,  1862.) 
John  R.  Thompson.     (Died  September  12,  1862.) 
Jas.  W.  Wall.     (Elected  in  place  of  John  R.  Thompson,  deceased, 
Richard  S.  Field  having  been  appointed  pro  tern.  ;  took  his  seat 
January  21,  1863. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

George  T.  Cobb.     John  T.  Nixon.     Nehemiah  Perry.     William  G. 
Steele.     John  L.  N.  Stratton. 


NEW  YORK. 

SENATORS. 

Ira  Harris.     Preston  King. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Stephen  Baker.  J.  P.  Chamberlain.  Ambrose  W.  Clark.  Frederick 
A.  Conkling.  Roscoe  Conkling.  Erastus  Corning.  Isaac  C. 
Delapaine.  Alexander  S.  Diven.  R.  Holland  Duell.  Alfred 
Ely.  Reuben  E.  Fenton.  Richard  Franchot.  Augustus  Frank. 
Edward  Haight.  James  E.  Kerrigan.  William  E.  Lansing. 
Jas.  B.  McKean.  Moses  F.  Odell.  Abraham  B.  Olin.  Theodore 
M.  Pomeroy.  Charles  B.  Sedgwick.  Socrates  N.  Sherman. 
Edward  H.  Smith.  Elbridge  G.  Spaulding.  John  B.  Steele. 
Burt  Van  Horn.  Robt.  B.  Yan  Yalkenburgh.  Chas.  H.  Yan 
Wyck.  Chauncey  Yibbard.  William  Wall.  Elijah  Ward. 
William  A.  Wheeler.  Benjamin  Wood. 


360  APPENDIX  22 7. 

OHIO. 
SENATORS. 

Salmon  P.  Chase.     (Resigned  March  6,  1861.) 

John  Sherman.     (Elected  in  place  of  Salmon  P.  Chase,  resigned ; 

took  his  seat  March  23,  1861.) 
Benjamin  F.  Wade. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

William  Allen.  James  M.  Ashley.  John  A.  Bingham.  Harrison 
G.  Blake.  Samuel  S.  Cox.  William  P.  Cutler.  Sidney  Edgerton. 
John  A.  Gurley.  Richard  A.  Harrison.  Valentine  H.  Horton. 
John  Hutchins.  James  R.  Morris.  Warren  P.  Noble.  Robt. 
H.  Nugen.  George  H.  Pendleton.  Albert  G.  Riddle.  Samuel 
Shellabarger.  Carey  A.  Trimble.  Clement  L.  Vallandigham. 
Chilton  A.  White.  Samuel  T.  Worcester. 

OREGON. 

SENATORS. 

Edward  D.  Baker.     (Died  October  21,  1861.) 

Benjamin  F.    Harding.     (Elected  in  place  of   Edward    D.    Baker, 

deceased,  Benjamin  Stark  having  been  appointed  pro  tern.  ;  took 

his  seat  December  i,  1862.) 
James  W.  Nesmith. 
Benjamin  Stark.  (Appointed  in  place  of  Edward  D.  Baker,  deceased  ; 

took  his  seat  February  27,  1862.) 

REPRESENTATIVE. 

George  K.  Shiel. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
SENATORS. 

Simon  Cameron.     (Resigned  March,  1861.) 
Edgar  Cowan. 

David  Wilmot.  (Elected  in  place  of  Simon  Cameron,  resigned  ;  took 
his  seat  March  18,  1861.) 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Sydenham  E.  Ancona.     Elijah  Babbitt.     Joseph  Baily. 

Charles  J.  Biddle.     (Elected  in  place  of  E.  Joy  Morris,  resigned.) 

Samuel  S.  Blair.     James  H.  Campbell. 

Thomas  B.  Cooper.     (Died  April  4,  1862.) 

John  Covode.     William  Morris  Davis. 

Galusha  A.  Grow.     (Elected  Speaker  July  4,  1861.) 

James   T.    Hale.      John   Hickman.      Philip  Johnson.     William   D. 

Kelley.     John  W.  Killinger.     Jesse  Lazear. 
Wm.  E.  Lehman.     (Election  unsuccessfully  contested  by  John  M. 

Butler.) 


APPENDIX  III.  361 

REPRESENTATIVES  (Continued). 

Robert    McKnight.      Edward    McPherson.      James    K.    Moorhead. 

John  Patton.     Thaddeus  Stevens. 
John  D.  Stiles.     (Elected  in  place  of  Thomas  B.  Cooper,  deceased  ; 

took  his  seat  June  3,  1862.) 

John  P.  Verree.     (Election  unsuccessfully  contested  by  John  Kline.) 
John  W.  Wallace.     Hendrick  B.  Wright. 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

SENATORS. 

Henry  B.  Anthony. 

Samuel  G.  Arnold.  (Elected  in  place  of  James  F.  Simmons,  re 
signed  ;  took  his  seat  December  i,  1862.) 

James  F.  Simmons.     (Resigned  in  1862.) 
REPRESENTATIVES. 

George  H.  Browne.     William  P.  Sheffield. 

TENNESSEE. 
SENATOR. 

Andrew  Johnson. 
REPRESENTATIVES. 

George  W.  Bridges.     (Took  his  seat  February  25,  1863.) 

Andrew  J.  Clements.     (Took  his  seat  January  13,  1862.) 

Horace  Maynard. 

VERMONT. 
SENATORS. 

Jacob  Collamer. 

Solomon  Foot.     (Elected  president  pro  tern.  July  18,  1861.) 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Portus  Baxter.     Justin  S.  Morrill.     Ezekiel  P.  Walton. 

VIRGINIA. 

SENATORS. 

John  S.  Carlile.  (Elected  senator  in  place  of  R.  M.  T.  Hunter, 
withdrawn  ;  took  his  seat  July  13,  1861.) 

Waiteman  T.  Willey.  (Elected  in  place  of  J.  M.  Mason,  with 
drawn  ;  took  his  seat  July  13,  1861.) 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Jacob  B.  Blair.     (Elected  in  place  of  John  S.  Carlile,  resigned  ;  took 

his  seat  December  2,  1861.) 
William  G.  Brown. 
John  S.  Carlile.     (Resigned.) 
Joseph  E.  Segar.     (Took  his  seat  May  6,  1862.) 

Charles  H.  Upton.  (Election  unsuccessfully  contested  by  S.  F.  Beach.) 
Killian  V.  Whaley. 


362  APPENDIX  III. 

WISCONSIN. 
SENATORS. 

James  R.  Doolittle.     Timothy  O.  Howe. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Luther  Hanchett.     (Died  November  24,  1862.) 

Walter  D.  Mclndoe.     (Elected  in  place  of  Luther  Hanchett,  de 
ceased  ;  took  his  seat  January  26,  1863.) 
John  F.  Potter.     A.  Scott  Sloan. 

COLORADO  TERRITORY. 
DELEGATE. 

Hiram  P.  Bennett. 

DAKOTA  TERRITORY. 
DELEGATE. 

John  B.  S.  Todd. 

NEBRASKA  TERRITORY. 
DELEGATE. 

Samuel  G.  Daily.     (Election  unsuccessfully  contested  by  J.  Sterling 
Morton.) 

NEVADA  TERRITORY. 
DELEGATE. 

John  Cradlebaugh. 

TERRITORY  OF  NEW  MEXICO. 
DELEGATE. 

John  S.  Watts. 

UTAH  TERRITORY. 
DELEGATE. 

John  M.  Bernhisel. 

WASHINGTON  TERRITORY. 
DELEGATE. 

William  H.  Wallace. 


INDEX. 


Act,  of  July  22,  calling  for  500,000 
volunteers,  36;  of  July  29,  increas 
ing  army,  36 

Adams,  C.  F.,  referred  to,  327 

Adams,  Captain,  aids  in  capturing 
blockade  runners,  245 

Adams,  J.  Q.,  views  on  Oregon 
controversy,  73  ;  house,  253 

Alabama- K ear sarge,  battle,  286 

Alexander,  Col.  B.  S.,  assists  in  de 
fending  Washington,  288 

Alexandria  re-ceded  to  Virginia,  16  ; 
war  episode,  28 

Alley,  J.  B.  (app.  iii.,  358)  ;  favors 
1862  Bond  bill,  Il6 

Allison,  W.  B.,  elected  38th  Con 
gress,  250 

Amnesty  proclamation  of  Lincoln, 
298 

Ames,  Oakes,  elected  38th  Congress, 
250 

Anderson,  C.,  nominated  Lieut.- 
Gov.  Ohio,  230  ;  in  Ohio  cam 
paign,  235 

Andrew,  Judge  J.  A.,  speaks  in 
Lincoln  campaign,  296  ;  relations 
with  Stanton,  321 

Appleton,  Wm.,  resignation,  101 

Arkansas  free  State  government,  300, 
302 

Arlington  estate,  127 

Army,  efficiency  in  1861,  33  ;  in 
creased,  36  ;  position  and  size  in 
1861,  69-71  ;  recruits  at  Washing 
ton,  77 ;  daily  expenses,  100 ; 
criticism  on  inactivity  of,  1 86,  187; 
responds  to  Lincoln's  war  order 


No.  I.,  188  ;  negro  soldiers  added 
to,  209  ;  regulations  revised,  210  ; 
officers  increased,  210  ;  condition 
and  needs  of,  in  1863,  252  ;  rein 
forcements  called  for,  251  ;  in 
creased,  255 ;  in  1865,  328 

Army  (Confederate),  position  and 
size  in  1861,  70,  71  ;  declines,  328 

Army  of  the  Potomac,  size  in  1861, 
70  ;  reorganized,  252  ;  orders  is 
sued  to,  in  1865,  328 

Arnold,  I.  N.  (app.  iii.,  356);  in 
fluence  of,  33  ;  favors  ship  canals, 
212  ;  and  Mr.  Riddle  call  Ship 
Canal  Convention,  232,  233 

Ashby's  Black  Horse  cavalry,  50 

Ashley,  J.  M.  (app.  iii.,  360),  mem 
ber  37th  Congress,  5  ;  favors 
Thirteenth  Amendment,  324 

Atlanta,  fall  of,  297 

Augur,  Gen.  C.  C.,  commands 
troops  defending  Washington,  288 ; 
relations  with  Pardon  Worsley, 
310 

Austria,  sustains  Maximilian  in  Mex 
ico,  327 


B 


Backus,  F.  T.,  contests  Mr.  Rid 
dle's  candidacy,  4  ;  Peace  Com 
missioner,  6 

Bailey,  Commodore  Theodorus,  re 
ferred  to,  238 

Bailey,  Dr.  Gamaliel,  editor  National 
Era,  254 

Baker,  E.  D.  (app.  iii.,  360),  sena 
tor  37th  Congress,  6  ;  speeches, 
5,  6  ;  referred  to,  15,  177  ;  war- 


363 


364 


INDEX. 


like  qualities,  39  ;  career  at  Ball's 
Bluff,  68,  169,  175 

Baker,  L.  C.,  detective  work  at 
Manassas,  64  ;  Provost-Marshal 
District  Columbia,  306  ;  character 
and  career,  306,  307,  322  ;  plans 
capture  Wilkes  Booth,  333,  335  ; 
declines  to  aid  in  Johnson's  im 
peachment,  342 

Baker,  Lieut.,  aids  in  capturing 
\Vilkes  Booth,  334 

Ball,  Edward,  debates  with  Long  in 
Ohio  Legislature,  256 

Ball's  Bluff  disaster,  cause  of,  68, 
172  ;  referred  to,  75  ;  Congress 
inquires  concerning,  168,  169,  175, 
176;  Roscoe  Conkling's  speech 
on,  169,  175 

Baltimore,  attempts  to  secure  Mary 
land's  secession,  62  ;  riot,  62  ;  up 
rising  during  Early's  raid,  286 

Baltimore  Convention,  meets,  282  ; 
platform,  293 

Bank,  circulation  in  1862,  100  ; 
President  discusses  financial  situ 
ation  with  Cong.  Com.,  101  ;  offer 
to  aid  Treasury,  100  ;  suspensions 
in  1862,  101 

Banks,  Gen.  N.  P.,  Red  River  cam 
paign,  252  ;  knew  fate  of  Davis 
reconstruction  bill,  302 

Bates,  Edward,  cited  on  legal- 
tender  notes,  105 

Battles  of  the  year  1862,  207 

Baxter,  Portus  (app.  iii.,  361),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  in  Lehman- 
Butler  case,  85 

Bayard,  J.  A.  (app.  iii.,  355),  votes 
against  expulsion  of  certain  sena 
tors,  35  ;  speaks  on  Emancipation 
bill,  155  ;  referred  to,  34,  163 

Beach,  J.  F.,  contests  C.  H.  Upton's 
election,  90 

Beaman,  F.  C.  (app.  iii.,  358),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30 

Benedict,  G.  H.,  candidacy  for 
Cleveland  post-office,  20  ;  uses  Mr. 
Riddle's  letter  maliciously,  56  ; 
referred  to,  66 

Bingham,  J.  A.  (app.  iii.,  360),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30;  connection  with 
Upton  election  case,  99  ;  speech 
on  Bond  bill,  1862,  114,  115  ; 
replies  to  Wadsworth,  196,  197 

Birney,  Horace,  suggested  as  Peace 
Commissioner,  73 


Black,  Chauncey,  referred  to,  280 

Black,  J.  S.,  characteristics  and  po 
litical  career  of,  277  ;  views  on 
Oberlin  rescue  case,  278,  279  ; 
invites  Mr.  Riddle  to  be  law  part 
ner,  280 ;  defends  Milligan  and 
others,  309,  312  ;  resignation  from 
Buchanan's  cabinet  of,  315 

Elaine,  J.  G.,  elected  to  38th  Cong., 
249 

Blair-Chase  quarrel,  273,  275 

Blair-Fremont  quarrel,  273 

Blair,  F.  P.,  Jr.  (app.  iii.,  358), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30,  249;  com 
plimentary  vote  for  Speakership, 
31  ;  votes  for  Confiscation  act, 
34  ;  moves  expulsion  of  Clark,  35  ; 
hostile  to  Chase,  39 ;  referred  to, 
49  ;  moves  expulsion  of  Reid,  73  ; 
assails  Fremont,  189;  personal 
characteristics,  200  ;  member  mili 
tary  committee,  253  ;  relations 
with  Stanton  and  Chase,  265,  268  ; 
returns  to  army,  268  ;  scheme  for 
cessation  of  hostilities,  327 

Blair,  Montgomery,  favors  appoint 
ment  of  Mr.  Cowles,  22  ;  martial 
training  and  characteristics,  39  ; 
relations  with  Chase  and  Stanton, 
39  ;  mail  facilities  in  the  seceding 
States,  72  ;  hostile  to  Sec.  Stanton, 
265,  266  ;  in  Lincoln's  Cabinet, 
275,  276  ;  relations  with  Stanton 
and  Johnson,  341 

Blairs  of  Maryland  meet  Mr.  Riddle, 
16 

Blair's  premises  invaded  by  Early 
and  officers,  289,  290 

Blake,  H.  G.  (app.  iii.,  360),  con 
test  with  S.  S.  Cox,  19  ;  attends 
Bull  Run,  45 

Blockade  runners,  242,  248  ;  Rafile, 
242,  244  ;  Conqueror,  244,  245 

"  Blood  Tubs"  (Baltimore),  kill  un 
armed  Mass,  soldiers,  25 

Blow,  H.  T.,  elected  to  38th  Cong., 
250 

Bond   bill,   of    1862,    provisions  of, 

101,  125  ;    speeches    concerning, 

102,  123  ;  vote  on,  123,  124,  125  ; 
relief  afforded  by,   125  ;  of  1863, 
126 

Bond  issue  of  $150,000,000,  125 
Boonville,  referred  to,  35 
Booth,  Wilkes,  reference  to  escape 
and  capture  of,  331,  333,  334 


INDEX. 


365 


Boston  conscription  riot,  232 
Boat\vell,    G.    S.,    elected   to    sSth 

Cong.,  250 

Bowen,  J.  S.,  patriotic  efforts  of, 
322 

Bradley,  J.  P..  decision  on  Treasury 
notes,  126 

Brady's  photograph  gallery,  76 

Bragg,  Thomas,  expelled  from  Sen 
ate,  35 

Breckinridge,  J.  C.  (app.  iii.,  357), 
as  President  of  Senate,  5  ;  votes 
against  Confiscation  act  and  sus 
taining  Union,  34,  35  ;  votes 
against  Crittenden  resolution,  42  ; 
expelled  from  Senate,  74 

Bright,  J.  D.  (app.  iii.,  356),  votes 
against  Confiscation  act,  34  ; 
votes  against  expelling  senators, 
35  ;  on  Ways  and  Means  Com., 
101  ;  evidence  against,  84  ;  ex 
pelled  from  Senate,  84 

Brooks,  James,  elected  to  38th 
Cong.,  250 

Brotherhood  of  Liberty  disloyal,  167 

Brough,  Gov.  John,  referred  to,  27  ; 
nomination  and  career  in  Ohio 
politics,  230,  231  ;  elected,  237 ; 
relations  with  Stanton,  321 

Brown,  Gratz,  elected  to  sSthCong., 
251 

Brown,  Gen.  Jacob,  service  in  war 
1812,  27 

Brown,  John,  appeals  for  counsel,  3  ; 
Mr.  Riddle's  speech  on,  345,  349 

Brown,  Sergeant-at-Arms,  attends 
Bull  Run  battle,  45 

Brown,  Thomas,  attends  Bull  Run 
battle,  46 

Browne,  Gen.W.H.,  referred  to,  290 

Browning,  O.  H.,  speech  on  slavery 
in  Dist.  Columbia,  149-151 

Buchanan,  James,  anecdote  of,  5  ; 
appearance  at  Lincoln's  inaugura 
tion,  14 

Buckalew,  C.  B.,  elected  to  sSth 
Cong.,  251 

Buckner,  Gen.  S.  B.,  relation  to 
Morgan's  raid,  232 

Buell,  Don  Carlos,  number  and  posi 
tion  of  forces  of,  70;  at  Mum- 
fordsville,  188  ;  not  originator  of 
Tennessee  campaign,  189 

Bull  Run  battle,  congressmen  at 
tending,  45  ;  Mr.  Riddle's  account 
of,  46-55  ;  referred  to,  75 


Burnett,  H.  C.  (app.  iii.,  357) mem. 
3/th  Cong. ,  30  ;  enters  Confederate 
Senate,  cong.  career,  34 

Burnett,  W.  B.,  prefers  charges 
against  L.  P.  Milligan,  311,  312 

Burnside,  Gen.  A.  E.,  number  and 
position  of  forces  of,  69  ;  order  of, 
228 

Butler,  Gen.  B.  F.,  captures  Fort 
McHenry,  62  ;  victim  of  Wash 
ington  police,  63  ;  appearance  in 
iS6i,  63  ;  characterizes  slaves  as 
"contrabands  of  war,"  139  ;  prose 
cutes  Milligan  and  others,  312 

Butler  (J.  M.)-Lehman  (W.  E.)  con- 
test  in  House,  85-89 

Butternut  Clubs  disloyal,  167 


Calvert,  C.  B.  (app.  iii.,  357),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  140 

Cameron,  R.  A.,  removed  from  Bull 
Run,  55 

Cameron,  Simon  (app.  iii.,  360), 
Sen.  37th  Cong.,  6;  at  "Army 
and  Navy"  reception,  n  ;  on 
condition  of  army,  33 ;  referred 
to,  67,  316 ;  answers  resolution 
concerning  Ball's  Bluff  disaster, 
168  ;  as  Secretary  of  War,  39,  179, 
181  ;  silent  as  to  originator  of 
Tenn.  campaign,  190 

Campbell,  James  H.  (app.  iii.,  360), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  Lehman- 
Butler  case,  85,  89  ;  speech  on 
Bond  bill,  123  ;  referred  to,  227 

Campbell,  John  A.,  attempts  to 
secure  armistice,  327 

Camp  Taylor  formed  at  Cleveland, 

27 

Cauby,  Gen.  E.  R.  S.,  quells  New 
York  riot,  231 

Canterbury  Theatre,  83 

Captured-and-abandoned  property 
law,  128 

Carlile,  J.  S.  (app.  iii.,  361),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  29,  30  ;  votes  against 
Confiscation  act,  34  ;  elected  to 
Senate,  35  ;  opposes  expulsion  of 
J.  D.  Bright,  84 

Carroll,  A.  E.,  ancestry  of,  190; 
replies  to  Breckinridge's  secession 
speech,  190  ;  influence  on  public 
and  military  affairs,  190,  191  ; 
originates  Tennessee  campaign, 


366 


INDEX. 


190  ;  supports  Gov.  Hicks,  190  ; 
seeks  Cong,  aid  in  vain,  191  ; 
death  of,  191 

Carroll  prison,  annex  of  old  "  Capi 
tol  prison,"  307  ;  investigated, 
326 

Cartter,  D.  K.,  arranges  for  John 
Brown's  counsel,  3  ;  made  Chief- 
Justice  Dist.  Columbia  court,  3  ; 
entrusted  with  Chase's  presiden 
tial  interests,  3  ;  characterizes 
Justice  Olin's  opinions,  200  ;  re 
ferred  to,  281 

Casey,  Gen.  Silas,  number  and  posi 
tion  of  forces  of,  70 

Cass,  Lewis,  residence,  254 

Centerville,  headquarters  McDow 
ell's  forces,  45,  46 

Cherubusco,  G.  W.  Morgan  at,  65 

Champion,  Will,  referred  to,  76 

Chandler,  Zachariah,  martial  quali 
ties  of,  39  ;  votes  on  Crittenden 
resolution,  42  ;  attends  Bull  Run 
battle,  45  ;  on  Com.  on  Conduct 
of  War,  177;  resolution  concern 
ing  Bull  Run  disaster,  177  ;  in 
Ohio  campaign,  233,  235 

Chase,  Miss  Kate,  appearance  in 
1861,  23 

Chase-Blair  quarrel,  273,  275 

Chase-Morgan  quarrel,  283 

Chase,  S.  P.,  presidential  aspira 
tions,  2,  3  ;  Sen.  38th  Cong.,  5  ; 
Commr.  to  Peace  Congress,  6 ; 
made  Secretary  of  Treasury  by 
Lincoln,  12  ;  retains  brother  of  S. 
S.  Cox,  19  ;  appoints  son  of  Gov. 
Slade,  20  ;  relations  with  Mont 
gomery  Blair,  39  ;  as  Secretary  of 
Treasury  receives  aid  from  the 
banks,  100  ;  financial  views,  101  ; 
requests  additional  financial  aid, 

125  ;  decision  on  Treasury  notes, 

126  ;  condition  of  Treasury  as  left 
by,    126 ;    effect    of    prohibiting 
funding,  126  ;  originator  national 
bank  scheme,  127  ;  relation  to  re- 
nomination  of  Mr.  Riddle,  203  ; 
prepares  regulations  for  commer 
cial      intercourse     with     seceded 
States,  264,  265  ;  tenders  resigna 
tion  as  Secretary  of  Treasury,  265  ; 
unwarranted     announcement     of 
presidential  candidacy,  265  ;  resig 
nation    declined,    265  ;     strained 
relations    with    Blairs,    265-268  ; 


again  threatens  resignation,  268  ; 
relation  to  Lincoln's  second  can 
didacy,  270  ;  political  significance 
of  proposed  resignation,  270 ; 
Lincoln's  letter  refusing  to  accept 
resignation,  273  ;  as  Governor  of 
Ohio,  280;  resigned,  283;  speeches 
during  Lincoln  campaign,  296  ; 
as  orator,  296  ;  appointed  Chief- 
Justice,  312 

Chicago  Democratic  Convention, 
platform,  293,  294 

Cisco,  Associate  Treasurer  at  New 
York,  resignation  of,  283 

Civil  service,  in  1861,  18 ;  Mr. 
Riddle's  first  experience  with,  19 

Clark,  Albert,  military  record  of,  27 

Clark,  J.  B.,  expelled  from  House, 
35 

Clark,  W.  A.  conviction  of,  311 

Clay,  B.  J.,  elected  38th  Cong.,  250 

Clephane,  Lewis,  patriotic  efforts  of, 
322  ;  sued  for  libel,  322 

Cleveland  Grays,  go  to  the  front,  26  ; 
referred  to,  64 

Cleveland  post-office  contest,  4 

Clifford,  Nathan,  decision  on  Treas 
ury  notes,  126 

Clingman,  T.  L.,  expelled  from 
Senate,  35 

Cochrane,  John,  radical  Republican 
nominee  for  Vice-Presidency,  294 

Colfax,  Schuyler,  (app.  iii.,  356), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  mem.  from 
36th  to  4  ist  Congresses,  31  ; 
moves  the  incarceration  of  J.  M. 
Mason,  73  ;  defends  Fremont, 
189  ;  referred  to,  226  ;  Speaker 
38th  Cong.,  251  ;  moves  expulsion 
of  Long,  262 

Collamer,  Jacob  (app.  iii.,  361),  Sen. 
37th  Cong.,  6 

Committee  on  Conduct  of  War,  ori 
gin  of,  177  ;  reports,  178 

Confederate  States,  H.  \V.  Davis's 
scheme  for  reconstruction,  289- 
300 

Confiscation  act,  vote  on,  34  ;  re 
ferred  to,  128,  194 

Conger,  Col.  O.  E.,  military  service 
of,  306  ;  commands  troops  search 
ing  for  Wilkes  Booth,  334 

Congress  (37th  and  38th),  work  of 
the,  IV.  ;  (37th)  assembled  July  4, 
1861,  29;  confronted  by  war  con 
ditions,  69  ;  effect  of  war  on,  69  ; 


INDEX. 


367 


convened  Dec.  2,  1861,  69  ;  in 
session  during  holidays,  81  ;  con 
fronted  by  financial  problem  of 
1862,  100  ;  work  of,  128  ;  total 
appropriations  of,  192  ;  review  of 
laws  enacted  by,  192-198  ;  career 
of,  249-255 

Congress  (rebel)  passes  act  arming 
slaves,  327 

Congressional  cemetery,  17 

Congressional  life  and  its  influences, 
225,  226 

Conkling,  F.  A.,  speaks  on  Bond 
bill,  113,  114 

Conkling,  Roscoe  (app.  iii.,  359), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30;  opposes 
Crittenden  compromise,  40  ;  calls 
for  information  concerning  Ball's 
Bluff  disaster,  73  ;  speech  on  Bond 
bill,  113  ;  resolution  aiding  States 
voluntarily  freeing  slaves,  161  ; 
resolution  concerning  Ball's  Bluff 
disaster,  168 ;  speech  on  Ball's 
Bluff  disaster,  169-175  ;  personali 
ty  of,  175  ;  referred  to,  227 

Conqueror,    blockade    runner,    244, 

245  m 

Conscription  laws,  revised,  253  ; 
defects  of  old,  254 

Conscription,  resort  to,  209  ;  riots, 
231,  232 

Conway,  M.  F.  (app.  iii.,  356),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30 

Cooke,  Jay,  &  Co.,  report  gold  fluct 
uations,  297 

Cook,  W.  A.,  defends  Lewis  Clep- 
hane  in  libel  suit,  323 

Copperhead  bands  disloyal,  167 

Corbett,  Boston,  referred  to,  334 

Corcoran,  Michael,  taken  prisoner 
at  Bull  Run,  73 

Corinth,  referred  to,  battle  of,  188 

Corning,  Erastus  (app.  iii.,  359), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30;  compli 
mentary  vote  for  Speaker,  31  ; 
mem.  House  com.  on  Banks  and 
Currency,  101  ;  mem.  House 
Ways  and  Means  Com.,  101  ;  op 
poses  bond  issue,  101 

Corwin,  Thomas,  mem.  36th  Cong. , 
6 ;  opposes  Crittenden  compro 
mise,  40  ;  as  orator,  296 

Couch,  Gen.  D.  N.,  defends  Penn, 
against  Early's  raid,  286 

Court  of  Claims,  Lincoln's  views 
concerning,  71 


Covode,  John  (app.  iii.,  360),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  on  Com.  on  Con 
duct  of  \Yar,  177  ;  report  of,  200 

Cowan,  Edgar  (app.  iii.,  360),  votes 
against  Confiscation  act,  34  ;  at 
Bull  Run  battle,  54  ;  presents 
sword  to  Penn.  reg.,  76  ;  votes 
against  expulsion  J.  D.  Bright,  84 

CowleSy  Edwin,  appointed  post 
master  of  Cleveland,  24 ;  animosity 
to  S.  S.  Cox,  196  ;  supports  Brough 
for  Gov.,  231 

Cox,  J.  D.,  enters  on  military  career, 
26 

Cox,  S.  S.  (app.  iii.,  360),  Mr.  Rid 
dle's  first  relations  with,  19  ; 
origin  of  name  "Sunset,"  19; 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30 ;  compli 
mentary  vote  for  Speaker,  31  ; 
Three  Decades  of  Federal  Legisla 
tion,  by,  45  ;  acknowledgment  to, 
45  ;  quotes  Mr.  Riddle's  Bull  Run 
letter,  50,  51  ;  and  others  name 
candidates  for  Brigadier-Gens. , 
65  ;  opposed  to  Lovejoy's  slavery 
bill,  129  ;  speech  arraigning  Re 
publicans,  195,  196  ;  opposes  ship 
canals,  212 ;  referred  to,  227  ; 
denounces  Vallandigham's  arrest, 
230  ;  defeated  for  Speaker  38th 
Cong.  251  ;  resolution  concerning 
exchange  of  prisoners,  326 ;  re 
quests  reading  Mr.  Riddle's  John 
Brown  speech,  345 

Cox,  \V.  S.,  referred  to,  290 

Crane,  C.  H.,  at  Bull  Run  battle, 
53 

Crisfield,  J.  W.  (app.  iii.,  357), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30;  speaks 
against  Bond  bill,  115,  116  ;  atti 
tude  towards  fugitive  slaves,  139, 
140  ;  adverse  report  on  bill  aiding 
States  freeing  slaves,  162  ;  con 
ference  with  Mr.  Riddle,  163 

Creswell,  J.  A.  J.,  elected  38th 
Cong.,  250 

Crittenden  compromise,  40 

Crittenden,  J.  J.  (app.  iii. ,'357), 
speeches  in  1861,  5  ;  mem.  37th 
Cong.,  30;  votes  to  expel  J.  B. 
Clark,  35  ;  resolution  on  suprem 
acy  of  Union,  41  ;  suggested  as 
Peace  Comr.,  73 

Crook,  Gen.  George,  captures  Ear 
ly's  wagon  trains,  289 

Currency,  fractional,  125 


368 


INDEX. 


Curtin,    Gov.    A.    G.,    invites    Mr. 

Kiddle    to    Erie,    217  ;     defends 

Penn.  against    Early's  raid,   286 ; 

relations  with  Stanton,  321 
Curtis,  S.  R.  (app.  iii.,  356),  mem. 

37th  Cong.,  30 
Custer,  Gen.  G.  A.,  at  grand  review, 

337 

Curtis  heirs  indemnified  for  Arling 
ton  estate,  127 

Cutler,  \V.  P.  (app.  iii.,  360),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30 


D 


Dallas,  C.  M.,  suggested  as  Peace 
Commr.,  73 

Darius  brothers  referred  to,  27 

Davis,  David,  decision  in  Milligan 
case,  312 

Davis,  Garrett(app.  iii.,  357),  speech 
on  abolishing  slavery  in  District 
Columbia,  148,  149 

Davis,  H.  \V.,  elected  to  38th 
Cong.,  250  ;  considered  for  Cabi 
net  by  Lincoln,  275  ;  politically 
aided  by  Lincoln,  276  ;  Recon 
struction  bill  and  its  fate,  298-300 ; 
Lincoln  replies  to  Reconstruction 
bill,  300  ;  replies  to  Lincoln's 
proclamation,  301-304  ;  avoids 
voting  on  I3th  Amendment,  324  ; 
cause  of  retirement,  340 

Davis,  Jefferson,  attempts  to  secure 
armistice,  327 

Davis,  Judge  N.,  decision  on  Treas 
ury  notes,  126 

Dawes,  H.  L.  (app.  iii.,  358),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30 ;  on  Lehman- 
Butler  case,  85  ;  speech  on  Upton 
election  case,  99 

Day  Judge  Luther,  in  Ohio  cam 
paign,  234,  235 

De  Kay,  Drake,  referred  to,  45 

Delano,  Charles,  supports  C.  H. 
Upton  in  contested  election,  98 

Delano,  Columbus,  referred  to,  234 

Democrats  in  Congress,  attitude 
towards  slavery,  163  ;  baneful  in 
fluence  after  1862,  166,  167  ;  sus 
tain  Long's  treasonable  speech, 
263 

Democratic  party,  threatened  disin 
tegration,  164  ;  attempts  to  pre 
vent  disintegration,  165,  166  ;  at 
titude  towards  slavery,  251 


Dennison,     Gov.     William,     raises 
troops,  26 ;    Chairman  Baltimore 
Convention,  277,  282 
|   Devens,    Gen.    Charles,    at    battle 
Ball's  Bluff,  171,  172 

Devlin,  John,  case  of,  307,  308 

District  of  Columbia,  population  in 
1861,  10  ;  jail  used  as  slave  pen, 
slavery  abolished  in,  74  ;  courts 
reorganized,  210 ;  personnel  of 
Supreme  Court,  281  ;  political 
status,  295 

Dix,  Gen.  J.  A.,  notified  of  Rich 
mond's  evacuation,  328 

Donnelly,  Ignatius,  elected  38th 
Cong.,  250 

Doolittle,  J.  R.  (app.  iii.,  362), 
Sen.  37th  Cong.,  3 

Doubleday,  Gen.  U.  F.,  military 
court  of,  310 

Dougherty,  Lieut.,  and  men  cap 
ture  \Vilkes  Booth,  334 

Douglas,  S.  A,  (app.  iii.,  355); 
Sen.  37th  Cong.,  6;  debates 
Peace  Congress  propositions,  6  ; 
referred  to,  15 

"  Duff  Green's  Row,"  annexed  to 
old  "Capitol  prison,"  307 

Dunn,  AY.  McKee  (app.  iii.,  356), 
mem.  37th  Cong.  30  ;  referred  to, 
133 


Eagle   aids   in    capturing    blockade 

runners,  245 
Early,  Gen.  Jubal,  raid  of,  285-292  ; 

defeated  by  Sheridan,  297 
Easters,  trial  of,  310,  311 
Eaton,   Gen.   A.    B.,    at    Bull    Run 

battle,  45 
Edgerton,    Sidney  (app.  iii.,   360)  ; 

mem.    37th    Cong.,  5;     supports 

Mr.  Riddle's  renomination,  202 
Edwards,   T.   M.  (app.  iii.,    359)  ; 

speech  favoring  Bond  bill,  116 
Edward's   Ferry,   relation    to   Ball's 

Bluff  disaster,  172 
Eldridge,  C.  A.,  elected 38th  Cong., 

250 
Electoral    College  of     1864,    297  ; 

rebel  States  ineligible  to,  326 
Eliot,  T.  D.  (app.  iii.,  358),  resolu 
tion  emancipating  slaves,  73 
Ely,  Alfred  (app.  iii.,  359),  at  battle 

Bull  Run,  45  ;  captured,  64 


INDEX. 


369 


Emancipation     bill,      Senate     and 

House  votes  passing,  160,  161 
Emancipation  of   slaves   by  States, 

congressional  effort  to    aid,   161, 

162,  163 
Emancipation     proclamation,     204, 

205 

Emory,  Gen.  W.   H.,   comes  to  re 
lief  of  Washington,  287 
Evans,  Gen.  N.  G.,   at   Ball's  Bluff 

battle,  173 
Everett,  Dr.,  candidate  for  Collec- 

torship,  203  ;  supports  Brough  for 

Governor,  231 
Everett,     Edward,      suggested     as 

Peace  Commr.,  75 
Ewing,   Thomas,   Commr.  to  Peace 

Congress,  73,  256 
Executive      Mansion,      see     White 

House. 


Fall  of  Sumter,  25 

Farnsworth,    J.     F.,     elected    38th 

Cong.,  250 
Farragut,   Ad.    D.  G.,    thanked  by 

Cong.,  128 
Fenton,  R.  E.  (app.  iii.,  359),  mem. 

37th  Cong.,  30  ;  referred  to,  227 
Fessenden,   Gen.    Francis,    referred 

to,  310 
Fessenden,   S.   C.  (app.    iii.,    357), 

mem.  37th  Cong.,  30 
Fessenden,  W.   P.  (app.  iii.,  357), 

Sen.  37th  Cong.,  6  ;  opposes  Crit- 

tenden  compromise,  40  ;  on  Ways 

and  Means  Com.,  101  ;  speech  on 

abolishing  slavery  in  Dist.  Colum 
bia,  151 
Field,  D.  D.,  nominated  Associate 

Sec.   of  Treasury,    283  ;    defends 

Milligan  and  others,  312 
Field,    Judge    S.    J.,    decision   on 

Treasury  notes,  126 
Fillmore,     Millard,     suggested     as 

Peace  Commr.,  73,  256 
Financial   legislation   of    1862    and 

1863,  125,  126 

Financial  system  reviewed,  210 
First  Ohio,  at  Falls  Church,  28  ;    at 

Bull  Run  battle,  47 
Fisher,  G.  P.  (app.  iii.,  355),  speech 

favoring  State  slave  emancipation, 

163  ;  made  Judge,   163  ;    referred 

to,  281 


Floyd,  J.  B.,  mem.  Buchanan's 
Cabinet,  181 

Foot,  Solomon  (app.  iii.,  361),  Sen. 
37th  Cong.,  6 

Foote,  Com.  A.  H.,  thanked  by 
Cong.,  128  ;  naval  career,  188 

Ford,  Seabury,  supports  Brough's 
taxation  scheme,  231 

Ford,  Gov.  T.,  defends  Easters,  311 

Forney,  J.  W.,  reads  Washington's 
Farewell  Address  in  Senate,  185 

Fort  Donelson  captured,  128,  188 

Fort  Henry  captured,  128,  188 

Fort  McHenry  captured  by  Gen. 
Butler,  62 

Fort  Morgan  captured,  297 

Fortress  Monroe  conference  for  ar 
mistice,  327  ;  rebel  attempt  to 
secure  delay,  328 

Forty-first  Ohio,  organized,  66 ;  at 
Shiloh,  67 

Fouke,  P.  B.  (app.  iii.,  356),  resolu 
tions  favoring  harmony,  33,  165 

Frederick  City,  Maryland  Legisla- 
lature  at,  62 

Free-Soil  party  of  Ohio  formed,  2 

Freedman's  Bureau  created,  210 

Fremont-Blair  quarrel,  273 

Fremont,  Gen.  J.  C.,  referred  to, 
16  ;  recalled  from  Missouri,  189  ; 
frees  Missouri  slaves,  204  ;  pre 
sides  at  Lincoln-Johnson  meeting, 
294 ;  radical  Rep.  nominee  for 
Pres.,  294  ;  withdraws  from  presi 
dential  contest,  294 

Fry,  Gen.  J.  B.,  controversy  with 
R.  Conkling,  5 

Fugitive  slaves,  Lincoln's  order  con 
cerning,  139 

Fugitive  Slave  act,  House  vote  pass 
ing,  142 

G 

Gallatin,  Albert,  referred  to,  101 
Ganson,   John,  elected  3Sth  Cong., 

250 

Garneld,  Gen.  J.  A.,  made  Col.  4th 
Ohio,  26  ;  battle  with  Humphrey 
Marshal,  75  ;  revises  Conscription 
laws,  209  ;  elected  38th  Cong., 
249;  on  House  Military  Com., 
253  ;  headquarters,  254  ;  speeches 
on  Conscription  bill,  254,  255 ; 
reply  to  Long,  258-262  ;  opposes 
Lincoln's  proclamation,  July  8th, 
1864,  304,  305  ;  speech  concerning 


370 


INDEX. 


old  "Capitol  prison."  308,  309; 
defends  Milligan,  309,  312  ;  advo 
cates  investigation  of  Washington 
prisons,  326  ;  incident  at  inaugura 
tion  of,  330 

Gettysburg,  battle,  233-237 

Giddings,  J.  R.,  pro-slavery  influ 
ence,  2  ;  on  Oregon  controversy, 
73  ;  political  career,  224,  225 

Gold  fluctuations  in  1864,  297 

Golden  Circle  disloyal,  167 

Goldsborough,  Com.  L.  M.,  thanked 
by  Cong.,  128 

Gooch,  D.  \V.  (app.  iii.,  358),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  on  Com.  on  Con 
duct  of  War,  177 

Gorman,  Gen.  \V.  A.,  at  Ball's  Bluff 
battle,  172 

Grand  Gulf  steamer,  248 

Grand  review,  29,  336,  337 

Grant's  army  at  grand  review,  336 

Grant,  Gen.  U.  S.,  thanked  by 
Cong.,  128;  at  Cairo,  188  ;  not 
originator  of  Tenn.  campaign, 
189  ;  made  Gen. -in-Chief,  252  ; 
assigns  F.  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  a  com 
mand,  274  ;  campaigns,  285,  286, 
327 ;  Lee's  surrender  to,  321  ; 
made  Sec.  of  War,  342  ;  makes 
Stanton  Associate  Justice,  343 

Greeley,  Horace,  publishes  Mr. 
Riddle's  speech,  160 ;  supports 
Mr.  Riddle,  199  ;  asks  liberation 
of  slaves,  204  ;  referred  to,  230 

Green,  J.  S.,  debates  Peace  Cong, 
propositions,  6 

Grier,  Judge  R.  C.,  decision  on 
Treasury  notes,  126 

Griswold,  Hiram,  counsel  for  John 
Brown,  3  ;  elected  38th  Cong., 
250 

Griswold,  J.  A.,  elected  38th  Cong., 
250 

Groesbeck,  W.  S.,  Commr.,  to 
Peace  Cong.,  6 

Grow,  G.  A.  (app.  iii.,  360),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  elected  Speaker, 
31,  83;  tells  Cox-Riddle  episode, 
196 

Gurley,  J.  A.,  attends  Bull  Run 
battle,  45 

Gwynn,  C.  J.  M.,  defends  Easters, 
310,  311 

H 

Habeas  Corpus,  cong.  debate  as  to 


suspending,    34  ;    act   regulating, 

210 

Hahn,  Geo.  Michael,  referred  to 
appointment  of,  304 

Hale,  J.  P.  (app.  iii.,  359),  speeches 
of,  in  1860,  5  ;  Sen.  37th  Cong.,  6  ; 
fails  to  vote  on  Crittenden  resolu 
tion,  42  ;  speeches  on  slavery  in 
Dist.  Columbia,  153,  155 

Hall,  H.  C.,  Vice-Consul  at  Matan- 
zas,  240 

Halleck,  Gen.  H.  Wr.,  forces  under 
command  of,  70  ;  attitude  towards 
fugitive  slaves,  74 ;  thanked  by 
Cong.,  128,  188  ;  at  Cairo,  1 88  ; 
not  originator  of  Tenn.  campaign, 
189 

Hamlin,  Hannibal,  delegate  ship 
canal  convention,  233  ;  Hamlin, 
Mrs.,  referred  to,  15 

Hampson,  Capt.,  commands  Cleve 
land  Grays  at  Bull  Run,  66 

Hampton  Roads,  191 

Hamson's  Island,  relation  to  Ball's 
Bluff  disaster,  172 

Handy,  A.  H.,  advocates  secession 
of  Maryland,  61 

Harris,  Ira  (app.  iii.,  359),  votes 
against  expelling  J.  D.  Bright,  84 

Harrison  campaign  of  1840,  2 

Harrison,  R.  A.  (app.  iii.,  360),  sup 
ports  C.  H.  Upton  in  election 
contest,  98,  99 

Harrison,  Gen.  W.  H.,  referred  to, 
27 

Haskin,  J.  B.,  referred  to,  295 

Hazen,  Gen.  W.  B.,  made  Col.  4ist 
Ohio  reg.,  66  ;  military  qualifica 
tions,  67 

Hemphill,  John,  expelled  from  Sen 
ate,  35 

Henderson,  J.  B.  (app.  iii.,  358), 
supersedes  Gen.  Polk,  84 

Hendricks,  T.  A.,  elected  sSth 
Cong.,  251  ;  referred  to  slavery 
speech,  251 

Herold,  D.  E.,  capture  of,  334 

Hickman,  John  (app.  iii.,  360),  on 
Fouke's  resolution,  165 

Hicks,  Gov.  T.  H.,  prevents  Mary 
land  seceding,  61  ;  elected  to  38th 
Cong.,  251  ;  residence  burned,  286 

History  of  Legal-Tender  Paper 
Money,  E.  G.  Spaulding,  iii. 

History  of  the  Secret  Service,  L.  C. 
Baker,  referred  to,  334 


INDEX. 


Hitchcock,  Reuben,  Commr.  to 
Peace  Congr.,  6 ;  supports  Mr. 
Riddle's  candidacy,  203 

Hobson,  Gen.  E.  H.  relation  to 
Morgan's  raid,  232 

Hogan,  Joshua,  attends  Bull  Run 
battle,  45 

Holman,  W.  S.  (app.  iii.,  356), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  resolution 
on  extra  session,  34  ;  offers  Crit- 
tenden  resolution,  74  ;  on  Fouke's 
resolution,  165  ;  on  resolution  cen 
suring  Long,  263 

Hood,  Gen.  J.  B.,  referred  to,  defeat 
of,  327 

Hooker,  Gen.  Joseph,  forces  under 
command  of,  70 

Hooper,  Samuel  (app.  iii.,  358),  on 
House  Ways  and  Means  Com., 
101  ;  Com.  Banks  and  Currency, 
101  ;  speech  on  Bond  bill,  no, 
in,  123 

Horton,  V.  P.  (app.  iii.,  360),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  on  Ways  and 
Means  Com.,  101  ;  opposes  bond 
issue,  101  ;  speaks  against  Bond 
bill,  116 

House  of  Representatives  and  cong. 
life,  223,  224 

Howe,  T.  O.  (app.  iii.,  362),  on  Sen. 
Ways  and  Means  Com.,  101 

Hoyt,  George,  referred  to,  64 

Hunter,  Gen.  H.  J.,  order  freeing 
slaves,  204 

Hunter,  R.  M.  T.,  expelled  from 
Senate,  35  ;  attempts  to  secure 
armistice,  327 

Hutchins,  John  (app.  iii.,  360), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  5  ;  on  slavery 
in  Dist.  Columbia,  74,  143 


Illinois  offers  loo-day  men,  253 
Inaugural  ball  1861,  15 
Indiana  offers  loo-day  men,  253 
Ingersoll,  E.  C.,  elected  sSthCong., 

250 

Internal  Revenue  act  of  1862,  127 
Iowa  offers  loo-day  men,  253 
Island  No.  10  captured,  188 


J 


Jackson,  Gov.  C.  F.,  and  the  Boone- 
ville  affair,  35 


Jackson,  Stonewall,  referred  to,  167 

Jencks,  T.  J.,  elected  38th  Cong., 
250 

Johnson,  Andrew  (app.  iii.,  361), 
Sen.  37th  Cong.,  6  ;  votes  against 
resolution  expelling  senators,  35  ; 
presents  Carlile  and  Willey  cre 
dentials,  35  ;  not  present  at  vote  on 
Breckinridge  expulsion,  74  ;  on 
Com.  on  Conduct  of  War,  177  ; 
Rep.  nominee  for  Vice-President, 
293  ;  referred  to,  305  ;  rumor  of 
assassination,  332  ;  difficulties  on 
succeeding  Lincoln,  340,  342  ;  as 
President,  341,  342 

Johnson,  Reverdy,  suggested  as 
Peace  Commr.,  73  ;  elected  38th 
Cong.,  251 

Johnson  and  Sutton  trial,  311 

Johnson,  W.  P.  (app.  iii.,  358), 
votes  against  Confiscation  act,  34  ; 
against  employment  of  volun 
teers,  35  ;  against  expulsion  of 
Senators,  30  ;  against  Crittenden 
resolution,  42  ;  not  present  at  vote 
on  Breckinridge  expulsion,  74  ; 
referred  to,  76  ;  expelled  from 
Senate,  84 

Johnston,  Gen.  J.  E.,  commands 
Virginia  forces,  71  ;  at  Bowling 
Green,  188 

Julian,  G.  W.  (app.  iii.,  356),  mem., 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  Com.  on  Con 
duct  of  War,  177  ;  biography  of 
Giddings  by,  225 


K 


Kasson,  J.  A.,  Asst.  Postmaster 
Gen.,  22  ;  elected  3&th  Cong.,  250- 

Kearsarge- Alabama  battle,  286 

Kelley,  Alfred,  supports  Brough's 
taxation  scheme,  231 

Kelley,  Gen.  B.  F.,  forces  under 
command  of,  70 

Kelley,  William  (app.  iii.,  356), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  referred  to, 
33  »  opposes  Crittenden  compro 
mise,  40 ;  mem.  Com.  Elections 
Lehman-Butler  case,  85,  8q 

Kent,  Judge  James,  cited  by  E.  G. 
Spaulding,  105 

Kentucky  representatives,  attitude 
on  war  measures,  166 ;  support 
Vallandigham's  construction 
scheme,  166 


372 


INDEX. 


Kernan,  Francis,  elected  38th  Cong. ; 

250 
Keyes,   Gen.    E.    D.,    forces   under 

command  of,  70 
King,  Preston  (app.  in.,  359),  Sen. 

Cong.,  6 


Lammon,   W.    H.,   returns  fugitive 

slaves  by  Lincoln's  order,  139 
Lander,  Gen.  F.  W.,  forces  under 

command  of,  70 

Lane,  H.  S.,  Sen.  38th  Cong.,  81 
Latham,  M.  S.  (app.  iii.,  355),  votes 

against     Confiscation      act,     34  ; 

against  expulsion  of  senators,  35 
Laws  enacted  by  37th  Cong.,  192, 

193 

Lee,  Gen.  R.  E.,  personal  appear 
ance  of,  II  ;  loses  Arlington  estate, 
127  ;  referred  to,  171  ;  decrease 
of  forces  of,  328  ;  surrenders  at 
Appomattox,  329 

Legal  tender,  Supreme  Court  de 
cision  on,  125,  126 

Legislation,  financial,  of  1862,  1863, 

125,  127 

Lehman  (W.  E.)  vs.  Butler  (J.  M.), 
contest  for  seat  in  House,  85-89 

Lehman,  W.  E.  (app.  iii.,  360),  ap 
pearance  during  Mr.  Riddle's 
speech,  88  ;  retains  his  seat,  89 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  visits  Cleveland, 
3  ;  episodes  of  first  days  in  Wash 
ington,  10 ;  dinner  to  Cabinet 
elect,  12  ;  episodes  of  inaugura 
tion,  13  ;  first  inaugural,  14,  15, 
33,  71  ;  inauguration  ball,  15  ; 
proclamation  calling  for  75,000 
troops,  25  ;  convenes  Cong.,  25  ; 
conditions  obtaining  when  elected, 
37,  38  ;  order  concerning  fugitive 
slaves,  139  ;  plan  for  States  freeing 
slaves,  161  ;  Gen.  War  Order  No. 
I,  187  ;  silent  as  to  originator  of 
Tenn.  campaign,  190 ;  denies 
clergymen's  petition  to  abolish 
slavery,  204 ;  revokes  Fremont's 
and  Hunter's  proclamations  free 
ing  slaves,  204  ;  Emancipation 
proclamation,  204  ;  slavery  policy, 
204,  205  ;  new  scheme  abolish 
ing  slavery,  207,  208  ;  as  Presi 
dent,  powers  enlarged,  210  ; 
criticised  and  vindicated,  218, 


221,  267  ;  confers  with  Mili 
tary  Com.  on  army  needs, 
254  ;  calls  for  300,000  men,  255  ; 
declines  Chase's  resignation,  265  ; 
personal  appearance  in  1864,  266  ; 
interview  concerning  Chase,  270, 
276  ;  referred  to  Blair-Chase  quar 
rel,  273,  275  ;  Blair's  speech  on 
Miss,  trade  reg.,  274  ;  accepts 
Chase's  resignation,  283  ;  renomi- 
nated  for  President,  282,  293  ;  call 
for  troops  to  repulse  Early,  285, 
286  ;  responds  to  serenade,  296  ; 
votes  cast  for,  1864,  297  ;  am 
nesty  proclamation,  298,  300  ; 
replies  to  Davis's  reconstruction 
bill,  300,  305  ;  attitude  towards 
military  courts,  311  ;  refuses  ar 
mistice,  327  ;  present  at  termina 
tion  of  war,  328 ;  phenomena 
attending  second  inauguration, 
329 ;  second  inaugural  address, 
330  ;  assassination  of,  331  ;  death 
and  burial,  333  ;  reconstruction 
views  of,  340 

Lincoln-Johnson  Club,  Dist.  Colum 
bia,  295,  296 

Lincoln,  Thaddeus,  action  of  Cong, 
on  death  of,  182 

Logan,  Gen.  J.  A.  (app.  iii.,  356), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  waives 
corps-commandership  in  favor  of 
Blair,  274 

Long,  Alexander,  elected  38th 
Cong.,  250  ;  career  in  Ohio  Legis 
lature,  256  ;  resolution  for  Peace 
Commission,  256 ;  treasonable 
speech,  257,  258  ;  resolutions 
censuring  and  expelling,  262  ; 
sustained  by  Democrats,  263  ;  re 
pudiates  McClellan's  nomination, 

295 

Loomis,  Dwight  (app.  iii.,  355),  on 
Elections  Com.  in  Lehman-Butler 
case,  85  ;  defends  Butler,  85  ; 
speech  in  Upton  election  case,  99 

Louisiana,  free  State  government, 
300,  302,  304 

Lovejoy,  Owen  (app.  iii.,  356),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  resolution  con 
cerning  fugitive  slaves,  34  ;  silent 
upon  Crittenden  resolution,  41  ; 
resolution  thanking  Com.  Wilkes, 
72  ;  reports  Homestead  bill,  74 ; 
bill  prohibiting  capture  of  slaves 
by  army  and  navy,  74  ;  speech  on 


INDEX. 


373 


Bond  bill,  123  ;  bill  denationaliz 
ing  slavery,  129  ;  Fouke's  resolu 
tion  tabled,  165  ;  personal  char 
acteristics,  200,  202  ;  death,  201 
Lyon,  Gen.  Nathaniel,  thanked  by 
Cong.,  128 


M 


McCall,  Gen.  G.  A.,  at  Ball's  Bluff 
battle,  169,  175  ;  subpoenaed  by 
Wade,  176 

McClellan,  Gen.  G.  B.,  number  of 
forces  commanded  by,  26,  69  ; 
effect  on  military,  63  ;  delay  be 
fore  Manassas,  64  ;  made  Com.- 
in-Chief,  68;  estimates  Confeder 
ate  forces,  71  ;  dilatoriness  of,  76  ; 
thanked  by  Cong.,  128  ;  orders 
given  at  Ball's  Bluff,  171,  172  ; 
subpoenaed  by  Wade,  176;  cheered 
at  Capitol,  186 ;  criticised  for 
tardiness,  186,  188  ;  Peninsula 
campaign,  192  ;  South  Mountain 
and  Antietam,  205  ;  Democratic 
nominee  for  President,  294  ;  votes 
cast  for,  297  ;  as  Commander,  316, 
3i8 

McClernand,  J.  A.  (app.  iii.,  356), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30 

McCook,  Gen.  A.  McD.,  referred 
to,  28  ;  commands  1st  Ohio,  66  ; 
made  Brigadier-Gen.,  65 

McCook,  David,  killed  at  Bull  Run, 
50 

McDonald,  J.  E.,  defends  Milligan 
and  others,  312 

McDougal,  J.  A.  (app.  iii.,  355), 
anecdote  of  Brigadier-General, 
77  ;  Sen.  Ways  and  Means  Com., 
101  ;  speech  on  abolishing  slavery 
in  Dist.  Columbia,  143,  144 

McDowell,  Gen.  Irvin,  leads  grand 
army  into  Virginia,  44  ;  at  Bull 
Run,  46 

McKean,  J.  B.  (app.  iii.,  359),  mem. 
Elections  Com.  in  Lehman-Butler 
case,  85,  89 

McKnight,  Robert  (app.  iii.,  361, 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  referred 
to,  227 

McPherson,  Edward  (app.  iii.,  361), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30 

Madison,  James,  referred  to,  37 

Magruder,  Gen.  G.  B.,  forces  com 
manded  at  Manassas  by,  64 


Manassas,  troops  in  battle  of,  44  ; 
evacuated,  188 

Marshal,  Gen.  Humphrey,  defeated 
by  Garfield,  75 

Marshall,  Chief-Justice  John,  cited 
by  E.  G.  Spaulding,  105 

Maryland,  attempts  to  secede,  61,  62; 
slavery  in,  139  ;  members  support 
Vallandigham's  reconstruction 
scheme,  166 ;  politics,  Lincoln's 
reference  to,  275,  276;  and  Early's 
raid,  285-287 

Mason,  J.  M.,  debates  on  Peace 
Cong,  propositions,  6 ;  expelled 
from  Senate,  35  ;  captured,  72  ; 
House  resolution  concerning  in 
carceration  of,  73 

Mason,  Col.  Rodney,  reference  to, 
28 

Massachusetts,  Lincoln  calls  for 
5,OOO  troops  from,  286 

Maximilian,   supported  by   Austria, 

327 

Maynard,  Horace  (app.  iii.,  361), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30 

Meade,  Gen.  G.  G.,  victory  of,  232 

Medary,  Samuel,  on  Ohio  politics,  19 

Menzies,  J.  W.  (app.  iii.,  357),  in 
Lehman-Butler  case,  85,  89 

Merricks  of  Wales,  I 

Merrimac,  defeat  of,  191 

Mexico,  Maximilian,  327 

Miles,  Gen.  D.  S.,  at  Bull  Run 
battle,  46 

Military  Com.  of  House,  importance 
of,  252,  253 

Miller,  Judge  S.  F.,  decision  on 
Treasury  notes,  126 

Milligan  and  others,  case  of,  308, 
312  ;  defended  by  J.  A.  Garfield, 
309 

Mulligan,  L.  P.,  charges  against, 
311  ;  acquitted  of,  312 

Mill  Spring,  Union  victory  at,  75 

Mississippi  trade  regulations,  284 

Missouri  members  support  Vallan 
digham's  reconstruction  scheme, 
1 66  ;  attitude  on  war  measures, 
1 66 

Mitchell,  C.  B.,  expelled  from  Sen 
ate,  35 

Monitor,  victory  of,  191 

Moorhead,  J.  K.  (app.  iii.,  361),  on 
ship  canals,  217 

Morgan,  E.  D.,  elected  3Sth  Cong., 
251 


374 


INDEX. 


Morgan-Chase  quarrel,  280 

Morgan,  Col.  G.  W.,  appointed 
Brigadier-General,  65,  66  ;  per 
sonal  appearance  of,  and  interview 
with  Mr.  Riddle,  82,  83 

Morgan's  (John)  raid,  232 

Merrill,  A.  P.  (app.  iii.,  357),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30 

Morrill,  J.  S.  (app.  iii.,  361),  tariff 
measure  named  after,  29  ;  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  personality  of, 
32  ;  House  Ways  and  Means 
Com.,  101  ;  opposes  bond  issue, 
101  ;  speech  on  Bond  bill,  in, 
113,  123  ;  on  duration  of  war,  187  ; 
referred  to,  226 

Morris,  J.  R.,  at  Bull  Run  battle,  45 

Morris,  Thaddeus,  a  parliamentary 
prodigy,  31 

Morrison,  \V.  R.,  elected  3Sth  Cong., 
250 

Morse,  Prof.  S.  F.  B.,  residence  of, 

254 
Morton,  O.  P.,  elected  Lieut.-Gov., 

8 1  ;  raises  recruits,  82  ;    relations 

with  Stanton,  321 
Mount  Vernon,  16 
Mygatt,    Col.     George,    leads   4ist 

Ohio  at  Shiloh,  67 


X 


National  Bank,  bill  of  1863,   126  ; 

Scheme,  127 

Navy,  acts  increasing,  128 
Negro  soldiers,  provided  for,  209  ; 

discrimination  against,  252 
Nelson,  Judge  Samuel,  decision  on 

Treasury  notes,  126 
Nesmith,  J.  W.  (app.  iii.,  360),  votes 

against  expulsion  of  senators,  35 
New  York,   conscription  riot,    231  ; 

called  on  by  Lincoln  for  12,000 

men,  286 
Nicholson,    O.    P.,    expelled    from 

Senate,  35 

Nicolay,  J.  G.,  referred  to,  22,  269 
Nineteenth  Cong.  Dist.  of  Ohio,  3 
Noble,  W.  P.  (app.  iii.,  360),  mem. 

37th  Cong.,  30 


O 


Oberlin  rescue  case,  278-280 
Oberlin  slave  rescuers  defended  by 
Mr.  Riddle,  2 


Odell,  M.  F.  (app.  iii.,  359),  Com. 

on  Conduct  of  War,  177 
Oglesby,  Gov.  R.  J.,  relations  with 

Stanton,  321 

Ohio  campaign  episodes,  233-237 
Ohio  conscription  riots,  232 
Ohio  elections  of  1862    206 
Ohio  offers  loo-day  men,  253 
Old  "  Capitol  prison,"  origin,  307  ; 
management,  308  ;     investigated, 
326 

Olin,  A.  B.  (app.  iii.,  359),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  threatens  inquiry 
as  to  Tenn.  campaign,  190  ;  char 
acteristics  of,  200  ;  favors  Ship 
canals,  212  ;  referred  to,  281 ;  de 
cision  in  Clephane  libel  case,  323 
Orth,  G.  S.,  elected  38th  Cong.,  250 

P 

Paine  family,  military  record  of,  27 

Paine,  Cap.  G.  E.,  military  company 
of,  26 

Paine,  Gen.  H.  E.,  military  career 
of,  26  ;  assists  in  defence  of  Wash 
ington,  288 

Paine,  R.  F.,  supports  Brough,  231 

Parsons,  R.  C.,  made  Consul-Gen, 
at  Rio,  23  ;  mem.  Gov.  Chase's 
staff,  23 ;  opposes  Cowles  for 
Cleveland  P.-O.,  23  ;  relations  to 
renomination  of  Mr.  Riddle,  202, 
203  ;  receives  Collectorship,  203  ; 
supports  Brough,  231 

Peace  Congress,  origin  and  object 
of,  6 

Pearce,  J.  A.  (app.  iii.,  357),  votes 
against  Confiscation  act,  34  ;  on 
Senate  Ways  and  Means  Com., 
IOI  ;  attitude  towards  fugitive 
slaves,  140  ;  referred  to,  316 

Peck,  Col.  Henry,  Bull  Run  battle, 

53 

Pendleton,  G.  H.  (app.  iii.,  360), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30;  speaks 
against  Bond  bill,  107,  108  ;  re 
ferred  to,  227  ;  announces  Val- 
landigham's  arrest,  230  ;  Demo 
cratic  nominee  for  Vice- President, 
294  ;  repudiates  McClellan's  nom 
ination,  295 

Pennington,  William,  as  Speaker 
36th  Cong.,  5,31 

Pennsylvania  called  on  by  Lincoln 
for  12,000  men,  285,  286 

Pension  code  extended,  127 


INDEX. 


375 


Phelps,  T.  G.  (app.  iii.,  355),  com 
plimentary  vote  for  Speaker,  31  ; 
on  House  Ways  and  Means  Com., 
IOI  ;  on  southwestern  rivers,  187 

Pierce,  Franklin,  named  as  Peace 
Commr.,  73,  256 

Pierpont,  Gov.  authorizes  election  in 
Alexandria,  90  ;  first  governor  of 
Virginia,  193 

Pike,  F.  A.  (app.  iii.,  356),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  speech  favoring 
Bond  bill,  116 

"  Plug  Uglies  "  of  Baltimore,  25 

Polk,  Christian  (app.  iii.,  358),  votes 
against  Confiscation  act,  34 ; 
against  bill  for  employment  of 
volunteers,  35  ;  against  expelling 
senators,  35  ;  against  Crittenden 
resolution,  42  ;  not  present  at  vote 
on  Breckinridge  expulsion,  74  5 
expelled  from  Senate,  84 

Polk,  J.  K.,  views  on  Oregon  con 
troversy,  73 

Pomeroy,  T.  M.  (app.  iii.,  359), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  encounter 
with  Martin  Conway,  30  ;  letter 
concerning  Sec.  Chase,  273  ; 
avoids  voting  on  I3th  Amend 
ment,  324 

Poore,  Ben.  Perley,  Political  Regis 
ter  and  Congressional  Directory, 
1776-1878,  222 

Pope,  Gen.  John,  Cong,  recognition 
of,  192  ;  repulsed,  205 

Porter,  A.  G.  (app.  iii.,  356),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  on  southwestern 
rivers,  187 

Potter,  J.  F.  (app.  iii.,  363),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30;  opposes  Critten 
den  resolution,  41  ;  Consul-Gen, 
at  Quebec,  280 

Powell,  L.  W.  (app.  iii.,  357),  votes 
against  Confiscation  act,  34  ; 
against  employment  of  volunteers, 
35  »  against  expelling  senators, 

35  ;  amendment  to  Army  bill,  35, 

36  ;    against  Crittenden  measure, 
42 ;     avoids  voting    on    Breckin- 
ridge's  expulsion,  74 

Prisons,    number    soldiers    held  in, 

325  ;  conditions  during  war,  325, 

326 

Presidential  powers,  enlarged,  210 
Pugh,    G.  E.,  Sen.  36th  Cong.,  6  ; 

named    as    Peace    Commr.,    74  ; 

protests    against     Vallandigham's 


arrest,     229  ;    nominated    Lieut. - 
Gov.  of  Ohio,  230 


Rafile,  blockade  runner,  242-244 
Randall,  \V.  H.,  elected 38th  Cong., 

250 

Ransome,  Caroline,  referred  to,  237 
Rebel  land-tax  act,  127 
Rebellion,    collapsed,    328  ;    official 

celebration  at  close,  329 
Reconstruction  bill  of  H.  \V.  Davis, 

298,  300  ;  replied  to  by  Lincoln's 

proclamation,  300 
Reconstruction       of       Confederate 

States,  341,  342 
Reconstruction    scheme    of   Vallan- 

digham,  165,  166 
Reid,  J,  W.  (app.  iii.,  359),  expelled 

from  House,  73 
Republican  National  Convention  at 

Baltimore,  282 
Resolution  of   inquiry   as  to   Ball's 

Bluff  disaster,  175 
Rice,  H.  M.  (app.  iii.,  358),   Sen. 

37th  Cong.,  34  ;  votes  against  Con 
fiscation  act,  34  ;  against  expelling 

senators,  35 
Richardson,  Gen.  I.  B.,  referred  to, 

44 

Richardson,  W.  A.  (app.  iii.,  356), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30;  compli 
mentary  vote  for  Speaker,  31  ;  at 
Bull  Run  battle,  45 

Richmond,  fall  of,  328 

Ricketts,  Gen.  J.  B.,  engages  Early's 
forces,  286 

Riddles  of  the  United  States,  I 

Riddle,  A.  G.,  family  history,  I  ; 
admitted  to  the  bar,  2  ;  aids  in 
organizing  Republican  party,  2  ; 
in  Fremont  and  Harrison  cam 
paigns,  2  ;  influenced  by  Gid- 
dings-Wade's  pro-slavery  views, 
2;  defends  Oberlin  slave  rescuers, 
2  ;  in  Ohio  Legislature,  2  ;  rela 
tion  to  Whig  and  Free-Soil  par 
ties,  2  ;  education,  2  ;  addresses  in 
behalf  John  Brown,  3  ;  first  meet 
ing  \vith  Lincoln,  3  ;  efforts  for 
Chase  as  President,  3  ;  nominated 
for  Cong.,  3  ;  counsel  for  Gen. 
Fry  before  House  Com.,  5  ;  first 
meeting  with  Sumner  and  Conk- 
ling,  5  ;  episodes  of  first  call  on 


3/6 


INDEX. 


Lincoln,  10  ;  enlistment,  26  ;  ac 
count  of  Bull  Run  battle,  45-54, 
55  ;  views  on  Crittenden  resolu 
tion,  41,  42,  43  ;  army  pass 
issued  to,  45  ;  Leader  improperly 
uses  Bull  Run  letter,  56  ;  letter  of 
defence,  58,  59  ;  political  down 
fall  through  misuse  of  letter,  57  ; 
G.  W.  Morgan  appointed  Briga 
dier-Gen.,  65  ;  aids  in  raising  4ist 
Ohio,  66  ;  secures  W.  B.  Hazen  a 
Colonelcy  in  4ist  Ohio,  66  ;  raises 
battery  for  4ist  Ohio,  67  ;  calls 
for  report  on  slaves  to  be  liberated 
in  Dist.  Columbia,  74  ;  tells  of 
two  prophets,  78-80 ;  interview 
with  G.  W.  Morgan,  82,  83  ;  de 
fends  Lehman,  86-88  ;  quotations 
from  Lehman-Butler  case,  87, 
88  ;  defends  C.  H.  Upton,  90, 
92-97  ;  speech  favoring  Bond  bill, 
116-120;  on  confiscating  Arling 
ton  estate,  127  ;  speech  on  Love- 
joy's  Slavery  bill,  131,  139 
speech  on  Lincoln's  war  policy 
136  ;  reply  to  Wadsworth,  137 
on  fugitive  slaves,  140-142 
speech  on  Emancipation  bill,  156- 
160  ;  conference  with  Crisfield  on 
bill  aiding  State  slave  emancipa 
tion,  663  ;  estimate  of  Simon 
Cameron,  179  ;  opposes  Sumner's 
reconstruction  scheme,  194,  195  ; 
speech  on  John  Brown,  195,  196  ; 
defeated  for  renomination,  199- 
206 ;  addresses  Summit  mass 
meeting,  203  ;  speech  favoring 
ship  canals,  212-217 ;  defends 
Lincoln,  218  ;  closes  cong.  career, 
221  ;  political  friends  and  acts, 
227  ;  and  Mr.  Arnold  call  ship 
canal  convention,  232,  233  ;  in 
Ohio  campaign,  233,  235,  236  ; 
Consul  at  Matanzas,  238  ;  ex 
tract  from  Cuba  diary,  239,  241  ; 
aid  in  suppressing  blockade  run 
ning,  242-245  ;  leaves  Matanzas, 
245  ;  relation  to  Blair-Chase  quar 
rel,  264-267  ;  opinion  on  Consular 
bill,  266  ;  interviews  Lincoln  for 
Chase,  270-276  ;  efforts  for  Ex- 
Gov.  Dennison,  277  ;  defends 
Oberlin  rescuers,  279  ;  asked  to 
become  Judge  Black's  law  partner, 
280 ;  declines  Quebec  Consul- 
Generalship,  280 ;  partnership  in 


Stevens  law  firm,  281  ;  expenses 
in  Early's  raid,  290-292  ;  speaks 
in  Washington  during  Lincoln 
campaign,  296  ;  requests  Lincoln 
to  appoint  Chase  Chief-Justice, 
313  ;  first  interview  with  Sec. 
Stanton,  316 ;  atty.  for  State 
Department,  332  ;  defends  Lewis 
Clephane,  322,  340  ;  brings  suit 
against  Washington  City,  334  ; 
impressions  and  estimate  of  Lin 
coln,  337-340  ;  declines  to  aid  in 
impeachment  of  Johnson,  342  ; 
speech  on  John  Brown,  345—349  ; 
speech  on  E.  M.  Stanton,  350- 
354 

Riots,  resulting  from  conscription, 
231,  232 

Rosecrans,  Gen.  W.  S.,  took  22d 
Ohio  into  Western  Va.,  26;  rela 
tions  to  McClellan,  63,  64  ;  de 
tains  Buckner's  forces,  232 

Ross,  Gen.  Robert,  referred  to,  cap 
ture  of  Washington,  307 


Sam.  Medary-McNulty-Byington- 
democracy,  230 

Saulsbury,  Willard  (app.  iii.,  355), 
referred  to,  34 ;  votes  against 
Confiscation  act,  34  ;  votes  to 
sustain  Union  supremacy,  35  ; 
res.  on  peace  negotiations,  73,  74  ; 
speech  on  Emancipation  bill,  155  ; 
referred  to,  163 

Savage,  Consul-Gen.,  at  Havana, 
244,  246 

Schenck,  Gen.  R.  C.,  at  Bull  Run 
battle,  47  ;  made  Brigadier-Gen., 
65  ;  elected  38th Cong.,  249,  250; 
anecdote  of,  253  ;  Chairman  Mili 
tary  Com.,  253  ;  head-quarters  of, 
254  ;  interviews  Lincoln  concern 
ing  Frank  Blair,  274 

Schofield,  G.  W. ,  elected  38th  Cong. , 
258 

Scott,  T.  A.,  made  Ass.  Sec.  of 
War,  180  ;  sustains  Miss  Carroll's 
military  views,  190 

Scott,  Gen.  WTinfield,  first  meets 
Lincoln,  10,  II  ;  military  precau 
tions  at  Lincoln's  inauguration, 
13,  15  ;  in  War  of  1812,  27  ;  issues 
pass  to  Mr.  Riddle,  45  ;  retires 
from  service,  68 


INDEX. 


377 


Sebastian,  \V.  K.,  expelled  from 
Senate,  35 

Second  Ohio,  at  Falls  Church,  28  ; 
at  Bull  Run  battle,  47 

Second  Wisconsin,  at  Bull  Run  bat 
tle,  53 

Secret  Service,  history  of,  334 

Sedgwick,  C.  B.  (app.  iii.,  359), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30 ;  supports 
Upton  in  election  case,  98 

Sedgwick,  Gen.  John,  at  Army  and 
Navy  reception,  n 

Segar,  J.  E.  (app.  iii.,  361),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30 

Seward,  W.  H.,  referred  to,  5  ;  Sen. 
36th  Cong.,  6  ;  makes  presenta 
tions  at  Lincoln's  reception,  n  ; 
opinion  on  duration  of  war,  36, 
1 86  ;  opposes  Crittenden  compro 
mise,  40  ;  apologizes  for  Mason 
and  Slidell  capture,  73  ;  views  on 
issuing  Emancipation  proclama 
tion,  205  ;  referred  to,  266,  280  ; 
responds  to  serenade,  296  ;  letter 
on  armistice  conference,  327; 
rumored  assassination,  332  ;  in 
jury  and  recovery  of,  341 

Seymour,  Horatio,  as  Gov.  of  New 
York,  231  ;  presides  over  Chicago 
Convention,  294 

Seymour,  Dr.  M.  M.,  presents  Mr. 
Riddle  to  Mr.  Conkling,  5 

Seymour,  T.  H.,  opponent  of  Mc- 
Clellan  for  Presidency,  294 

Sheffield,  W.  P.  (app.  iii.,  361), 
mem.  3~th  Cong.,  30  ;  speech  on 
Upton  election  case,  97,  98 ; 
speech  against  Bond  bill,  115 

Shellabarger,  Samuel  (app.  iii., 
360),  mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  Cong, 
influence,  33  ;  speech  on  Bond 
bill,  122,  123 

Sheridan,  P.  H.,  defeats  Early,  297 

Sherman,  John  (app.  iii.,  360), 
names  Brigadier-Gen,  candidates, 
65  ;  votes  against  issue  of  Treas 
ury  notes,  125  ;  successor  of  Pugh 
in  Senate,  230 

Sherman,  W.  T.,  appointed  Briga 
dier-Gen.,  65  ;  forces  commanded 
by,  70  ;  referred  to,  252  ;  relations 
with  Sec.  Stanton,  319,  320 ; 
campaign  of,  327,  328 

Sherman's  army  at  grand  review,  337 

Sherman's  battery  at  Bull  Run 
battle,  47,  48 


Sherman's  Memoirs,  319 

Shiloh,  battle,  iSS 

Ship  canals,  211-217  ;  bill  defeated, 
217  ;  convention,  232,  233 

Sigel,  Gen.  Franz,  position  near 
Washington,  285 

Simmons,  J.  F.  (app.  iii.,  361),  on 
Sen.  Ways  and  Means  Com., 
101 

Slade,  H.  M.,  receives  appointment, 
19  ;  referred  to,  76,  82,  83 

Slavery,  discussions  in  Congress, 
129  ;  in  Dist.  Columbia,  bill 
abolishing,  143-155  ;  attitude  of 
Democratic  members  toward,  163  ; 
policy  of  Lincoln,  204,  205,  207, 
208  ;  bill  of  Lovejoy's,  130-138 

Slaves,  furnished  assistance  in  war, 
139  ;  Lincoln's  order  concerning 
fugitive,  139 ;  joint  resolution 
aiding  States  voluntarily  emanci 
pating,  161  ;  Mr.  Riddle's  views 
on  emancipating,  163  ;  proclama 
tion  emancipating,  204,  205  ;  not 
employed  in  Confederate  army, 
252  ;  rebel  Cong,  passes  act  arm 
ing,  327,  328.  See  Emancipation 
of. 

Slidell,  John,  captured,  72  ;  House 
demands  incarceration  of,  73 

Smith,  G.  C.,  elected  38th  Cong., 
250 

Spalding,  R.  P.,  elected  38th  Cong., 
203,  204,  250  ;  interviews  Lin 
coln  for  Chase,  270-276 

Spaulding,  E.  G.  (app.  iii.,  359),  re 
ferred  to,  3  ;  mem.  37th  Cong., 
30  ;  on  House  committees,  101  ; 
estimates  future  war  debt,  102  ; 
speech  supporting  Bond  bill,  102— 
106 

Speed,  James,  as  Atty-Gen.  prose 
cutes  Milligan  and  others,  312 

Sprague,  Gov.  William,  recovers 
guns,  55  ;  referred  to,  266,  267 

Stanbery,  Henry,  prosecutes  Milli 
gan  and  others,  312 

Stanton,  Benjamin,  referred  to,  234 

Stanton,  E.  M.,  martial  qualities, 
39,  40  ;  relations  with  Blair,  39, 
265  ;  disposes  of  unassigned  brig 
adiers,  77  ;  sends  Gen.  Stone  to 
Fort  Lafayette,  176  ;  mem.  Bu 
chanan's  Cabinet,  180,  277  ;  as 
Sec.  of  War,  180,  181,  314- 
323  ;  silent  as  to  originator  of 


378 


INDEX. 


Tenn.  campaign,  190  ;  attitude 
towards  military  courts,  311  ; 
appearance,  316  ;  anecdote,  320, 
321  ;  publishes  dispatches  from 
Lincoln,  and  bulletin  from  Gen. 
Dix,  328  ;  assumes  control  on 
Lincoln's  death,  332,  341  ;  offers 
reward  for  Lincoln's  assassins, 
333  ;  places  Lieut.  Dougherty  and 
men  at  Baker's  service,  334  ; 
career  under  Johnson,  341  ;  resig 
nation  declined  by  Lincoln,  341 ; 
Mr.  Riddle's  speech  on  death  of, 

350-354 

Stephens,  A.  H.,  attempts  to  secure 
armistice,  327 

Stevens,  H.  L.,  referred  to,  280 

Stevens,  Thaddeus  (app.  iii.,  361), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  29,  30;  man 
ner  and  appearance,  31,  32  ; 
Chairman  \Vays  and  Means  Com., 
31,  101  ;  characterized  by  Judge 
Black,  32  ;  martial  qualities,  39- 
40  ;  opposes  Crittenden  compro 
mise,  40  ;  views  on  future  of  war, 
42  ;  resolution  on  freeing  slaves, 
72  ;  supports  bond  issue,  101,  121, 
122  ;  on  House  Ways  and  Means 
Com.,  101  ;  feud  with  Cameron, 
179  ;  opposes  ship  canals,  212  ; 
moves  to  rescinding  resolution  as 
to  old  "  Capitol  prison,"  309, 
326  ;  referred  to  326 

Stewart,  J.  B.,  referred  to,  167  ;  at 
tempts  to  capture  Wilkes  Booth, 

331 
Stirling,  Archibald,  defends  Easters, 

310.  3H 

Stone,  Gen.  C.  P.,  relation  to  Ball's 
Bluff  disaster,  169-175  ;  censured 
and  acquitted,  176  ;  subpoenaed  by 
Wade,  176 

Stratton,  J.  L.  N.  (app.  iii.,  359), 
on  House  Ways  and  Means  Com., 
101 

Strong,  Judge  William,  decision  on 
Treasury  notes,  126 

Sub-Treasury,  of  1846,  100  ;  sus 
pends,  101 

Sumner,  C.  H.  (app.  iii.,  358),  char 
acteristics,  6 ;  fails  to  vote  on 
Crittenden  measure,  42  ;  on  Hal- 
lock's  fugitive-slave  order,  74  ; 
speech  on  abolition  of  slaver}'  in 
Dist.  Columbia,  145-147  ;  recon 
struction  scheme,  193-194  ;  at 


tempts  amendment  Davis's  recon 
struction  scheme,  298,  299  ;  aids 
in  passing  I3th  Amendment,  325  ; 
amends  Wade's  resolution  on  treat- 
!  ment  of  rebel  prisoners,  326 

Sumner,  Col.  C.  VM  accompanies 
Lincoln  to  Washington,  10 

Sumter,  fall  of,  25 

Supremacy  of  Union,  vote  sustain 
ing,  35 

Supreme  Court,  decision  on  legal- 
tender  note,  125-126  ;  on  Arling 
ton  estate,  127  ;  created,  163. 

Suratt,  Mrs.,  pardon  made  con 
ditional  on  surrender  of  son,  340 

Suratt,  J.  H.,  escape  and  trial  of, 
332  ;  career,  340 

Sutton  and  Johnson,  trial  of,  311 

Swayne,  Judge  N.  H.,  decision  on 
Treasury  notes,  126 


Taney,    R.    B.,    named    as    Peace 

Commr.,  73 

Taylor,  Zachary,  nomination  of,  2 
Ten   Eyck,    J.   C.   (app.   iii.,    359), 

votes     against    expelling     J.     D. 

Bright,  84 
Tennessee    campaign,     devised    by 

Anna  Ella  Carroll,  189-191 
Tenure   of    Office  act  passed,    341, 

342 
Thirteenth  Amendment,   251,    324, 

3.25 

Thirty-seventh  Congress,  influences 
affecting,  32,  38  ;  career  of,  104  ; 
second  session  of,  324-330 

Thomas,  B.  F.  (app.  iii.,  358),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30  ;  speech  against 
Thaddeus  Stevens,  31,  32  ;  influ 
ence  of,  33  ;  speech  against  Bond 
bill,  116 

Thomas,  Francis  (app.  iii.,  357), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  voted  to 
expel  J.  B.  Clark,  35 

Thomas,  Gen.  Lorenzo,  opposes  in 
vestigation  of  Ball's  Bluff  disaster, 
169  ;  silent  as  to  originator  Tenn. 
campaign,  190 

Thompson,  R.  W.,  named  as  Peace 

Thrasher,  A.  H.,  defends  Mr.  Rid 
dle,  57 
Commr.,  74 

Tilden,  Dr.  R.,  secures  counsel  for 
John  Brown,  3 


INDEX. 


379 


Tod,  Gov.  David,  referred  to,  231 
Townsend,  E.  D.,  referred  to,  45 
Train,  C.  R.  (app.  iii.,  358),  mem. 

37th  Cong.,  30 
Treason,  act  punishing,  128 
Treasury,  condition   in  1862,    TOO  ; 
Cong,   and  Bankers  confer,   IOI  ; 
condition  in  1864,  126  ;  see  Sub- 
Treasury 

Treasury  notes,  House  recommends 
bond  issue  instead,  101  ;  150,000,- 
ooo  issued  in  1862,  125  ;  legal 
status,  125,  126 

Trumble,  C.  A.  (app.  iii.,  360),  re 
ferred  to,  226 

Trumbull,   Lyman,   (app.  iii.,   355), 
votes  against  Crittenden  measure, 
42 
Twelfth    New    York    at    Bull   Run 

battle,  47 

Tyler's  division  at  Manassas,  44 
Tyler,  Gen.  E.   B.,  made  Capt.  7th 
Ohio,  26  ;  capture  and  escape  of, 
286 


U 


Ulke's  photograph  gallery,  76 
Upton,  C.  H.  (app.  iii.,  361),  mem. 
37th   Cong.,    30  ;  contested   elec 
tion  case,  89-99 

Union,  resolution  sustaining,  35 
United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  IV. 


V 


Vallandigham,  C.  L.  (app.  iii.,  360), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30  ;  compli 
mentary  vote  for  Speaker,  31  ; 
resolution  forbidding  army  to 
liberate  slaves,  34  ;  names  Briga 
dier-Gens.,  65  ;  substitute  for 
Bond  bill,  speech  on,  107,  108- 
no;  political  attitude,  165;  re 
construction  scheme,  165,  166  ; 
baneful  influence  of,  166,  167  ; 
resolution  thanking  Hallock,  189  ; 
opposes  Conscription  bill  and 
ship  canals,  209,  212  ;  referred 
to,  227  ;  arrest  and  trial  of,  228, 
229 ;  nominated  Gov.  of  Ohio, 
230  ;  repudiates  McClellan's  nomi 
nation,  295 

Vandover,  William  (app.  iii.,  356), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  3Oth 

Vicksburg,  fall  of,  232,  237 


Vinton,  S.  V.,  political  career,  224 
Virginia  State  Convention,  25 
Virginia,  secession  of,  26,  89  ;  elec 
tions    authorized,   90  ;    members' 
attitude  on   war   measures,    166  ; 
members  support  Vallandigham's 
reconstruction       scheme,        166  ; 
division,    193  ;    excepted  in   Lin 
coln  amnesty  proclamation,  300 
Volunteers,  bill  for  employing,  34 
Vorhees,  D.  W.  (ap.  iii.,  356)  mem. 
37th  Cong.    30  ;  Elections   Com. 
in  Lehman-Butler  case,  85 


W 


Wade,  B.  F.  (app.  iii.,  360),  pro- 
slavery  influence  of,  2  ;  Sen.  37th 
Cong.,  5  ;  debates  Peace  Cong, 
propositions,  6  ;  relations  with 
Mr.  Riddle,  22  ;  recommends 
Benedict  for  Cleveland  P.-O.,  20  ; 
martial  qualities,  39,  40  ;  opposes 
Crittenden  compromise,  40  ;  votes 
for  Crittenden  resolution,  42  ;  at 
Bull  Run  battle,  45  ;  names  can 
didates  for  Brigadier-Genr.,  65  ; 
subpcenaes  Gens.  Stone,  McClel- 
lan,  and  McCall,  176  ;  Chairman 
Com.  on  Conduct  of  WTar,  177  ; 
in  the  secret  of  Tenn.  campaign, 
190  ;  relations  with  Vallandigham, 
229,  230 ;  replies  to  Lincoln's 
proclamation,  July  8,  1864,  301- 
304  ;  constituency  resent  attack  on 
Lincoln's  proclamation,  304  ;  en 
dorses  Stanton,  316 ;  resolution 
con.  treatment  rebel  prisoners, 
326  ;  Ohio's  repudiation  of,  340  ; 
adviser  of  Stanton,  341 

Wade,  Edward,  referred  to,  53 

Wadsworth.  W.  H.  (app.  iii.,  357), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30;  congres 
sional  influence  of,  33  ;  views  on 
secession  of  border  States,  137  ; 
oratorical  powers  of,  196  ;  arraigns 
Mr.  Riddle  and  apologizes,  197, 
198 

Walker,  Amasa  (app.  ii.,  358),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30 

Wallace,  Gen.  Lew,  engages  Early's 
forces,  286 

Walton,  E.  P.  (app.  iii.,  361),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30 

War,  battle  in  1862,  207  ;  r/sumSot 
conduct  of,  208,  209  ;  effect  on 


INDEX. 


the  people,  283,  284  ;  measures  of 
1862,  100-128  ;  policy,  sSth 
Cong.,  251 

Ward,  Col.  W.  G.,  House  action  in 
behalf  of,  73 

Washburne,  E.  B.  (app.  iii.,  356), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30 ;  opposes 
Crittenden  compromise,  40  ;  per 
sonal  characteristics,  200  ;  favors 
ship  canals,  212 

Washington  in  1861,   S,   10,  59,  60, 

75,  76 

Washington  jail  used  as  slave  pen,  74 

Washington,  recruits  in,  during 
1861,  77,  78  ;  Early's  raid  on, 
285-292  ;  war  government,  306  ; 
citizens'  efforts  to  capture  Booth, 
332,  333 

Washington's  birthday,  Cong,  exer 
cises  honoring,  183-186 

Webb,  W.  B.,  Major- Police,  refer 
ence  to,  332 

Webster,  Daniel,  cited  by  E.  G. 
Spaulding,  105  ;  referred  to  resi 
dence,  254 

Webster,  E.  H.  (app.  iii.,  357),  re 
ferred  to,  140 

Welling,  Dr.  J.  C.,  referred  to,  140, 
280 

Weitzel,  Gen.  Godfrey,  convenes 
Legislature  at  Richmond,  328  ; 
occupies  Richmond,  328 

West  Virginia,  attempts  to  repudiate 
secession,  90  ;  creation  of,  193 

Wetmore,  Capt.,  commands  4ist 
Ohio  battery,  67 

Whaley,  K.  V.  (app.  iii.,  361),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  29,  30 

Wheeler,  W.  A.  (app.  iii.,  359), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30 

Wheeling  Convention,  90 

Whig  rule  in  Ohio  terminates,  2 

White,  C.  A.  (app.  iii.,  360),  eman 
cipation  resolution  by,  163 

White  House  interior  in  1861,  17  ; 
Lincoln's  first  levee  at,  17 

Whittlesey,  Elisha,  political  career 
of,  224 

Wickliffe,  C.  A.  (app.  iii.,  357), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30;  opposes 
Lovejoy's  slavery  bill,  129,  134  ; 
referred  to,  175  ;  opposes  African 
soldier  bill,  209 

Wigfall,  L.  T.,  expelled  from  Sen 
ate,  35 

Wilderness  campaign,  251 


:  Wilkes,  Com.  Charles,  captures 
Mason  and  Slidell,  72  ;  thanked  by 
Cong.,  72 

Wilkinson,  M.  S.  (app.  iii.,  358), 
secures  expulsion  of  J.  D.  Bright, 
84 

Willard  House,  referred  to,  n 

Willey,  W.  T.  (app.  iii.,  361),  Sen. 
37th  Cong.,  35  ;  interrupts  Fes- 
senden  when  speaking  on  abolish 
ing  slavery  in  Dist.  Columbia,  151 

Williamson,  Samuel,  referred  to, 
199 ;  supports  Brough  for  Gov. 
231 

Willis,  N.  P.  referred  to,  76 

Wilson,  Henry  (app.  iii.,  358),  criti 
cises  Lincoln,  267 

Wilson,  J.  F.  (app.  iii.,  356),  mem. 
37th  Cong.,  30 

Wilson,  Robert  (app.  iii.,  358.),  suc 
cessor  to  Johnson  in  Sen.  37th 
Cong.,  84  ;  introduces  bill  abol 
ishing  slavery  in  Dist.  Columbia, 
143  ;  introduces  Conscription  bill, 
209 

Wilson's  Creek,  offset  to  Ball's 
Bluff,  75 

Windom,  William  (app.  iii.,  358), 
mem.  37th  Cong.,  30 

Wisewell,  Col.,  military  governor  of 
Dist.  Columbia,  290 

Wolf,  A.,  referred  to,  240 

Wood,  Benjamin,  repudiates  Mc- 
Clellan's  nomination,  275 

Wood,  Fernando,  elected 38th Cong., 
250  ;  repudiates  McClellan's  nom 
ination,  295 

Wood,  W.  P.,  governor  old 
"  Capitol  prison,"  308 

Wool,  Gen.  J.  E.,  personal  appear 
ance,  ii :  forces  commanded  by,  69 

Worcester,  S.  T.  (app.  iii.,  360),  re 
lations  to  Lehman-Butler  case,  85  ; 
argument  in  C.  II.  Upton  election 
contest,  91,  92  ;  criticises  Lincoln, 
267 

Worden,  Ad.  J.  L.,  Cong,  recogni 
tion  of,  128,  191 

Worsley,  Pardon,  career  of,  310 

Wright,  H.  B.  (app.  hi.,  361), 
speech  against  Bond  bill,  116 

Wright,  Gen.  H.  G.,  comes  to  re 
lief  of  Washington,  287-289 

Wyckoff,  Chevalier,  referred  to,  83 

Wylie,  Judge  Andrew,  referred  to, 
281 


tberoes  of  the  IRationa 

EDITED   BY 

EVELYN  ABBOTT,  M.A.,  FELLOW  OF  BALLIOL  COLLEGE,  OXFORD. 


A  SERIES  of  biographical  studies  of  the  lives  and  work 
of  a  number  of  representative  historical  characters  about 
whom  have  gathered  the  great  traditions  of  the  Nations 
to  which  they  belonged,  and  who  have  been  accepted,  in 
many  instances,  as  types  of  the  several  National  ideals. 
With  the  life  of  each  typical  character  will  be  presented 
a  picture  of  the  National  conditions  surrounding  him 
during  his  career. 

The  narratives  are  the  work  of  writers  who  are  recog 
nized  authorities  on  their  several  subjects,  and,  while 
thoroughly  trustworthy  as  history,  will  present  picturesque 
and  dramatic  "  stories  "  of  the  Men  and  of  the  events  con 
nected  with  them. 

To  the  Life  of  each  "  Hero  "  will  be  given  one  duo 
decimo  volume,  handsomely  printed  in  large  type,  pro 
vided  with  maps  and  adequately  illustrated  according  to 
the  special  requirements  of  the  several  subjects.  The 
volumes  will  be  sold  separately  as  follows : 

Cloth  extra $i   50 

Half  morocco,  uncut  edges,  gilt  top       .         .         .       I  75 


The  first  group  of  the  Series   comprises  the  following 

volumes: 

Nelson,  and  the  Naval  Supremacy  of  England.  By  W.  CLARK 
RUSSELL,  author  of  "The  Wreck  of  the  Grosvenor,"  etc. 

Gustavus  Adolphus,  and  the  Struggle  of  Protestantism  for  Exist 
ence.  By  C.  R.  L.  FLETCHER,  M.  A.,  late  Fellow  of  All  Souls  College, 
Oxford. 

Pericles,  and  the  Golden  Age  of  Athens.  By  Evelyn  Abbott,  M.A., 
Fellow  of  Balliol  College,  Oxford. 

Theodoric  the  Goth,  the  Barbarian  Champion  of  Civilisation.  By 
THOMAS  HODGKIN,  author  of  "  Italy  and  Her  Invaders,"  etc. 

Sir  Philip  Sidney,  and  the  Chivalry  of  England.  By  H.  R.  FOX- 
BOURNE,  author  of  "  The  Life  of  John  Locke,"  etc. 

Julius  Caesar,  and  the  Organisation  of  the  Roman  Empire.  By 
\V.  WARDE  FOWLER,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College,  Oxford. 

John  Wyclif,  Last  of  the  Schoolmen  and  First  of  the  English  Re 
formers.  By  LEWIS  SERGEANT,  author  of  "  New  Greece,"  etc. 

Napoleon,  Warrior  and  Ruler,  and  the  Military  Supremacy  of 
Revolutionary  France.  By  W.  O'CONNOR  MORRIS,  sometime 
Scholar  of  Oriel  College,  Oxford. 

Henry  of  Navarre,  and  the  Huguenots  in  France.  By  P.  F.  WILLERT, 
M.A.,  Fellow  of  Exeter  College,  Oxford. 

Cicero,  and  the  Fall  of  the  Roman  Republic.  By  J.  L.  STRACHAN 
DAVIDSON,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  Balliol  College,  Oxford. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the  Downfall  of  American  Slavery.  By 
NOAH  BROOKS. 

Prince  Henry  (of  Portugal)  the  Navigator,  and  the  Age  of  Dis 
covery.  By  C.  R.  BEAZLEY,  Fellow  of  Merton  College,  Oxford. 

Julian  the  Philosopher,  and  the  Last  Struggle  of  Paganism  against 
Christianity.  By  ALICE  GARDNER,  Lecturer  on  Ancient  History  in 
Newnham  College. 

Louis  XIV.,  and  the  Zenith  of  the  French  Monarchy.  By  ARTHUR 
HASSALL,  M.A.,  Senior  Student  of  Christ  Church  College,  Oxford. 

To  be  followed  by : 

Saladin,  the  Crescent  and  the  Cross.    By  STANLEY  LANE-POOLE. 

Joan  of  Arc.     By  Mrs.  OLIPHANT. 

The  Cid  Campeador,  and  the  Waning  of  the  Crescent  in  the  West. 

By  H.  BUTLER  CLARKE,  Wadham  College,  Oxford. 
Charlemagne,   the   Reorganiser  of    Europe.     By  Prof.  GEORGE  L. 

BURR,  Cornell  University. 
Moltke,  and  the  Founding  of  the  German   Empire.     By  SPENSER 

WILKINSON. 
Oliver  Cromwell,  and  the  Rule  of  the  Puritans  in  England.     By 

CHARLES  FIRTH,  Balliol  College,  Oxford. 
Alfred  the  Great,  and  the  First  Kingdom  in  England.     By  F.  YORK 

POWELL,  M.A.,  Senior  Student  of  Christ  Church  College,  Oxford. 
Marlborough,  and   England  as  a  Military   Power.      By  C.   W.  C. 

OMAN,  A.M.,  Fellow  of  All  Souls  College,  Oxford, 
Frederic  the  Second,  the  Wonder  of  the  World.     By  A.  L.  SMITH,  of 

Balliol  College,  Oxford. 
Charles  the  Bold,  and  the  Attempt  to  Found  a  Middle  Kingdom. 

By  R.  LODGE,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  Brasenose  College,  Oxford. 
Alexander  the  Great,  and   the  Extension  of  Greek  Rule  and  of 

Greek  Ideas.     By  Prof.  BENJAMIN  I.  WHEELER,  Cornell  University. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW   YORK  LONDON 

27  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  ST.  24  BEDFORD  ST.,  STRAND 


Ube  Stoq?  of  the  IRations. 


MESSRS.  G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS  take  pleasure  in 
announcing  that  they  have  in  course  of  publication,  in 
co-operation  with  Mr.  T.  Fisher  Unwin,  of  London,  a 
series  of  historical  studies,  intended  to  present  in  a 
graphic  manner  the  stories  of  the  different  nations  that 
have  attained  prominence  in  history. 

In  the  story  form  the  current  of  each  national  life  is 
distinctly  indicated,  and  its  picturesque  and  noteworthy 
periods  and  episodes  are  presented  for  the  reader  in  their 
philosophical  relation  to  each  other  as  well  as  to  universal 
history. 

It  is  the  plan  of  the  writers  of  the  different  volumes  to 
enter  into  the  real  life  of  the  peoples,  and  to  bring  them 
before  the  reader  as  they  actually  lived,  labored,  and 
struggled — as  they  studied  and  wrote,  and  as  they  amused 
themselves.  In  carrying  out  this  plan,  the  myths,  with 
which  the  history  of  all  lands  begins,  will  not  be  over 
looked,  though  these  will  be  carefully  distinguished  from 
the  actual  history,  so  far  as  the  labors  of  the  accepted 
historical  authorities  have  resulted  in  definite  conclusions. 

The  subjects  of  the  different  volumes  have  been  planned 
to  cover  connecting  and,  as  far  as  possible,  consecutive 
epochs  or  periods,  so  that  the  set  when  completed  will 
present  in  a  comprehensive  narrative  the  chief  events  m 


the  great  STORY  OF  THE  NATIONS ;  but  it  is,  of  course, 
not  always  practicable  to  issue  the  several  volumes  in 
their  chronological  order. 

The  "Stories"  are  printed  in  good  readable  type,  and 
in  handsome  I2mo  form.  They  are  adequately  illustrated 
and  furnished  with  maps  and  indexes.  Price,  per  vol., 
cloth,  $1.50.  Half  morocco,  gilt  top,  $1.75. 

The  following  volumes  are  now  ready  (March,  1895): 

THE  STORY  OF  GREECE.     Prof.  JAS.  A.  HARRISON. 
ROME.     ARTHUR  OILMAN. 
THE  JEWS.     Prof.  JAMES  K.  HOSMER. 
CHALDEA.     Z.  A.  RAGOZIN. 
GERMANY.     S.  BARING-GOULD. 
NORWAY.     HJALMAR  H.  BOYESEN. 
SPAIN.     Rev.  E.  E.  and  SUSAN  HALE. 
HUNGARY.     Prof.  A.  VAMBERY. 
CARTHAGE.     Prof.  ALFRED  J.  CHURCH. 
THE  SARACENS.     ARTHUR  OILMAN. 
THE  MOORS  IN  SPAIN.     STANLEY  LANE-POOLE. 
THE  NORMANS.     SARAH  ORNK  JEWETT. 
PERSIA.     S.  G.  W.  BENJAMIN. 
ANCIENT  EGYPT.     Prof.  GEO.  RAWLINSON. 
ALEXANDER'S  EMPIRE.     Prof.  J.  P.  MAHAFFY. 
ASSYRIA.     Z.  A.  RAGOZIN. 
THE  GOTHS.     HENRY  BRADLEY. 
IRELAND.     Hon.  EMILY  LAWLESS. 
TURKEY.     STANLEY  LANE-POOLE. 
MEDIA,  BABYLON,  AND  PERSIA.  Z.  A.  RAGOZIN. 
MEDIAEVAL  FRANCE.     Prof.  GUSTAVE  MASSON. 
HOLLAND.     Prof.  J.  THOROLD  ROGERS. 
MEXICO.     SUSAN  HALE. 
PHOENICIA.     Prof.  GEO.  RAWLINSON. 
THE  HANSA  TOWNS.     HELEN  ZIMMERN. 
EARLY  BRITAIN.     Prof.  ALFRED  J.  CHURCH. 
THE  BARBARY  CORSAIRS.  STANLEY  LANE-POOLE. 
RUSSIA.     W.  R.  MORFILL. 

THE  JEWS  UNDER  ROME.     W.  D.  MORRISON. 
SCOTLAND.    JOHN  MACKINTOSH. 
SWITZERLAND.     R.  STEAD  and  Mrs.  A.  HUG. 
PORTUGAL.     H.  MORSE  STEPHENS. 
THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE.     C.  W.  C.  OMAN. 
SICILY.     E.  A.  FREEMAN. 
THE  TUSCAN  REPUBLICS.     BELLA  DUFFY. 
POLAND.     W.  R.  MORFILL. 
PART  HI  A.     Prof.  GEORGE  RAWLINSON. 
JAPAN.     DAVID  MURRAY. 
THE  CHRISTIAN  RECOVERY  OF  SPAIN.     H. 

E.  WATTS. 

AUSTRALASIA.     GREVILLE  TREGARTHEN. 
SOUTHERN  AFRICA.     GEO.  M.  THEAL. 
VENICE.     ALETHEA  WIEL. 
THE  CRUSADES.     T.  S.  ARCHER  and  C.  L.  KINGS- 

FORD. 

VEDIC  INDIA.     By  Z.  A.  RAGOZIN. 


101965 


• 


